Alice Perry

Alice Perry
Born Alice Jacqueline Perry
(1885-10-24)24 October 1885
Wellpark, Galway, Ireland
Died 21 August 1969(1969-08-21) (aged 83)
Nationality Irish
Education Royal University of Ireland, Galway
Spouse(s) Bob Shaw
Parent(s) James Perry

Engineering career

Discipline Civil

Alice Jacqueline Perry (24 October 1885 – 21 August 1969) was the first woman in Ireland or Great Britain to graduate with a degree in engineering.[1]

Early life and education

Born in Wellpark, Galway in 1885, Alice was one of five daughters of James and Martha Perry (née Park).[2] Her father was the County Surveyor in Galway West and co-founded the Galway Electric Light Company.[3] Her uncle, John Perry, was a Fellow of the Royal Society and invented the navigational gyroscope.[4]

After graduating from the High School in Galway, she won a scholarship to study in Royal University, Galway in 1902. Having excelled in mathematics, she changed from studying for a degree in arts to an engineering degree. She graduated with first class honours in 1906.[1][5] The family appear to have been academically gifted. Her sisters Molly and Nettie also went on to third level education; a third sister Agnes earned BA (1903) and MA (1905) in mathematics from Queen's College Galway (later UCG then NUIG), taught there in 1903-1904, was a Royal University of Ireland examiner in mathematics in 1906, and later became assistant headmistress at a secondary school in London.[6]

Career

Following her graduation she was offered a senior postgraduate scholarship but owing to her father's death the following month, she did not take up this position.[2] In December 1906 she succeeded her father temporarily as county surveyor for Galway County Council.[2] She remained in this position for five[2] or six[1] months until a permanent appointment was made. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the permanent position and for a similar opportunity to be a surveyor in Galway East.[2] She remains the only woman to have been a County Surveyor (County Engineer) in Ireland.[1]

In 1908 she moved to London with her sisters, where she worked as a Lady Factory Inspector for the Home Office.[1] From there she moved to Glasgow, at which point she converted from Presbyterianism to Christian Science in 1915.[4] She met and married Robert (Bob) Shaw on the 30 September 1916.[2] Shaw was a soldier who died in 1917 on the Western Front.[1][2]

Later life and death

Perry retired from her inspector's position in 1921[4] and became interested in poetry, first publishing in 1922.[1] In 1923 she moved to Boston, the headquarters of Christian Science.[4] Until her death in 1969, Perry worked within the Christian Science movement as a poetry editor and practitioner,[2] publishing seven books of poetry.[1]

Legacy

An All-Ireland medal has been named in her honour, The Alice Perry Medal, with the first prizes awarded in 2014.[7]

Publications

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Engineers Ireland. "Alice Perry (1885-1969)". Engineers Ireland: Realised Vision. Engineers Ireland. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Irish Architectural Archive. "PERRY, ALICE JACQUELINE". Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720–1940. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Irish Architectural Archive. "PERRY, JAMES". Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720–1940. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 O'Connell, Claire (2009). "First in Their Field". In Mulvihill, Mary. Lab Coats and Lace. Dublin: WITS. pp. 43–45. ISBN 978-0-9531953-1-2.
  5. ↑ NUI Galway. "Our history". NUI Galway. NUI Galway. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  6. ↑ O'Sullivan, M. D.; O'Halloran, Joe (1999). "The Centenary of Galway College". Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. 51: 24–42.
  7. ↑ NUI Galway. "Winners announced for the First All-Ireland Apps Competition". NUI Galway. NUI Galway. Retrieved 8 February 2015.

Further reading

External links


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