Be inspired by rebels, revolutionaries and change-makers with Ireland’s EPIC Women
Discover the lives and legacies of women who have blazed a trail with our Women’s History programme, suitable for students of all ages.
Explore the stories of figures like investigative journalist Nellie Bly, who travelled around the world in 72 days, Irish-born Anne Bonny, who is better known today as the pirate queen of the Caribbean, and astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered a brand-new star!
Tied to SESE, SPHE, CSPE, The Arts and History curricula, explore the complexities of hidden histories, human rights issues, changing gender roles, and global citizenship by shining a light on the stories of Irish women who have shaped the world.
TOURS AND WORKSHOPS
REBELS AND REVOLUTIONARIES TOUR
Discover the stories of the pioneering women of Ireland who have shaped the world with this specially curated tour of the museum. Hear the stories of famine emigrants, Nobel prize winners, pilots, explorers, designers, Olympic medal winners and much, much more.
EMIGRANT’S SUITCASE WORKSHOP
This Women’s History themed Emigrant’s Suitcase workshop explores how objects tell people’s stories. Take part in skills-building tasks that span a range of curricula including English, History, Drama, Art, and Geography, and discuss how gender roles impact women’s lives in the past and present.
STORIES FROM THE MUSEUM
Browse through our online collection and follow the fascinating stories of Irish women around the world.
Kay McNulty: The Irish ‘mother of computer programming’
Kay’s passion for mathematics pre-dated her marriage to an eminent scientist in 1948, but social norms obliged her to continue her pioneering programming work unpaid, in the confines of the family home.
The story of Irish astronomer Rose O’Halloran
The woman with the pet telescope: Rose O’Halloran, a Tipperary woman who emigrated to the US, is credited as being the first to see a giant sunspot emerge on the sun’s limb.
The Irishwoman inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame
The daughter of an Irish immigrant sharecropper and an African-American mother, who worked as a washerwoman, her early life was beset by troubles including the death of her father when she was seven.
The Irishwoman who was the world’s first female stockbroker
Dubliner Oonah Keogh overcame number of barriers to become the first woman stockbroker in 1925 – barriers that her male contemporaries never had to deal with.
The Waterford woman who put Ireland on the international fashion map
Born in Wales to an Irish father, fashion designer Sybil Connolly dressed some of the world’s most glamorous women from Jackie Kennedy to Elizabeth Taylor.
An Irishwoman has guts and stands up for what she believes in
“I didn’t take discipline very well. I would never be slapped in school. If a teacher had slapped me I would have bitten her. I guess I was a bold, bad child, but it was exciting”
EPIC CHARACTERS IN 30 SECONDS
MOTHER JONES
“Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living” – a fearless fighter for worker’s rights. Here’s her fascinating story in 30 seconds!
MARY MALLON
Mary Mallon was one of history’s most famous infectious disease carriers and spent 26 years in forced isolation!
Inspiring Stories
Cynthia Longfield
The international dragonfly expert and intrepid explorer also known as ‘Madame Dragonfly’.
Annie Besant
Trade unionist, socialist, Indian nationalist leader and one of the first women to endorse birth control.
Fanny Durack
Irish-Australian record-breaking swimmer who won the first women’s Olympic swimming medal.
Dr. Isabel Mitchell
The Ulster missionary doctor who devoted her career to saving the lives of countless Machurian women.
Eileen Gray
Irish architect and designer from Co. Wexford who would later become a pioneer of modern design.
Eva Gore Booth
The sister of Constance Markievicz who became an icon of suffrage, nationalism and LGBTQ+ defiance.