| Collection Description | The Dublin University Women Graduates Association was founded on the 25th of April
1922 and held its
inaugural meeting in Trinity Week that year. Lucy Gwynn, the first Lady Registrar of Trinity
College was the
founding president, with Olive Purser, first female scholar, as vice-president. The first
secretary was Averil
Deverell, one of the first women lawyers. Other members included Olive Armstrong,
Fridzweeda Berry,
Geraldine Fitzgerald, Frances Moran, Lillian Luce and Muriel Thompson. The association
was established so
that women graduates could stay connected with the university and with each other. The
association had rooms
in Number 6 Front Square and organised lectures, visits, weekly gatherings, alumni
dinners and an 'At
Home' during Trinity Week. Since its foundation, the Association has developed, evolved,
and expanded, but
its focus remains essentially the same - to connect, support and inspire each other and
future generations of
Trinity women graduates. TWG also fund an Undergraduate Scholarship, TAP (Trinity
Access Programme) and
awards Bursaries to former graduates in times of hardship - all through the fundraising
efforts and donations
from its members and supporters. The changing role of women in society is reflected in
some ways in in the
development of the TWG, the occupations and concerns of its members, its focus, and
activities. The generous
support of the Trinity Association & Trust, Trinity Development and Alumni, the Provost's
Fund, the Beverston
Trust, Arthur Cox and many donors and friends of TWG has made the cataloguing of the
archive possible.
[Trinity College Dublin] |
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| Description | 28 boxes. The papers of Trinity Women Graduates (TWG), formerly known as the Dublin University Women Graduates Association (DUWGA) contain correspondence, minute books, accounts, administrative records and photographs spanning the hundred years of its existence. The records were mainly produced under their previous name, the Dublin University Women Graduates Association and the descriptions and titles reflect this. The collection was donated to the Library by the Trinity Women Graduates in 2018. In 2004, Trinity College Dublin and the Dublin University Women Graduates Association celebrated the centenary of the admission of women as students to the college and Trinity Women Graduates was at the forefront of preparatory activities for these celebrations. Therefore, the archive also contains material relating to the centenary of the admission to women to degrees in Trinity. A book was published by Susan M. Parkes entitled A Danger to the Men? A History of Women in Trinity College Dublin 1904-2004. The collection also includes the research, resources and material collected for the publication of this book including the correspondence, and administrative and financial records relating to the publication of the book. Reminiscences and memoirs were collected from women graduates and female staff members by the DUWGA for Susan Parkes book to record the lived experiences of women attending Trinity College Dublin in the twentieth century and they form a large and fascinating part of the archive. |
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