Happy 99th Birthday Trinity Women Graduates!

On the 25th of April 1922, some of the first women Trinity graduates founded our alumni association, Dublin University Women Graduates Association – since renamed Trinity Women Graduates (TWG). Our first President was Lucy Gwynn (1866-1947), who was the first Lady Registrar at Trinity College, and our first Vice President Olive Purser (1886-1973), the first woman to be made a scholar.

While the conditions for women at Trinity College were completely different in 1922 – women had to be off campus by 6pm and were banned from attending the Dining Hall and joining the established societies – their objectives for an alumni association have endured until today; to stay connected with Trinity and each other and to give women a voice in Irish society.

Our theme for 2021 is ‘Courage and Curiosity’, inspired by those first women entering Trinity as students. We share this 99th birthday with our founders – they would have been so proud of Trinity’s first female Provost, Professor Linda Doyle who will take up the role this summer!

We are going to celebrate our 99th birthday in May with alumni from different generations sharing their experiences of Trinity. Further details of this event will be shared very soon. TCD’s Alumni e-zine will also do a feature on TWG in their May edition, so watch this space!

As we prepare for our centenary next year we’ve been reminded that the experiences we take for granted were not easily won. And we’re also aware that other women face significant barriers in accessing education and career opportunities. TWG events raise funds to support Trinity Access Programme (TAP) undergraduate students with scholarships. To remain sustainable into the next 100 years and to support more TAP students we’re currently exploring the possibilities of corporate sponsorship.

We are also currently collecting Trinity memories for our centenary plans next year and would love to hear from you. Send in your short reflection (ca 100 words) of your time at Trinity to trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com or share on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram with the hashtag #99YearsTrinityMemories.