Olive Purser (1886–1973), was one of the first women to enter Trinity College Dublin and was the first woman to be made a scholar.

Early life and education

Olive Constance Purser was born on 15 July 1886 to Alfred and Ellen Purser. Purser was the youngest of four. She had two sisters and a brother. Her father was a Chief Inspector of National Schools. Within a few years of her birth the family had moved to

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

in Dublin where they remained. The family were dedicated to education. Her aunt was

Sarah Purser Sarah Henrietta Purser RHA (22 March 1848 – 7 August 1943) was an Irish artist mainly noted for her work with stained glass. Biography Purser was born in Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) in County Dublin, and raised in Dungarvan, County Wate ...

and her uncle was

Louis Claude Purser Louis Claude Purser, FBA (28 September 1854 in Abbeyside – 20 March 1932 in Dublin) was an Irish classical scholar. Purser was educated at Midleton College, County Cork,''The New International Encyclopædia'', Volume 19 (Dodd, Mead, 19 ...

while her two older sisters, Elinor and Luisa became teachers while her brother John, in 1911, was a master's student and Assistant to the Professor of Engineering in

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. Purser was one of the first women to be admitted to

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

entering in the

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...

term of 1904. Within 2 years of the ban on women being lifted, she had become the first woman to be made a scholar under the TCD system on 11 June 1906. She won it for classics. At the time she achieved this, women were still not permitted to remain in the college after 6pm or to dine with the male students or staff. Purser was a member of the Elizabethan Society started by her fellow student Marion Johnston. Two years after she completed her degree in TCD, Purser become a temporary lecturer at the university, taking over for

Edward Dowden Edward Dowden (3 May 18434 April 1913) was an Irish critic, professor, and poet. Biography He was the son of John Wheeler Dowden, a merchant and landowner, and was born at Cork, three years after his brother John, who became Bishop of Edinburgh ...

. In 1921, the Crewe report (The position of the Classics in the Educational System of the United Kingdom) lists her as ''Dean of the Women Students'' when she reports on the education of women and girls. Purser worked with her uncle Louis Purser on the Shanganagh dig. In 1954 she was awarded an honorary LL.D. She later wrote a book on the women of Trinity. Purser died on 12 April 1973.

Bibliography

* ''Women in Dublin University, 1904-1954'', 1954 * ''Ancient Pottery at Shanganagh Castle, County Dublin''; Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy; Vol. 37, 1924 * ''A Welsh Poet of the Seventeenth Century'' ;The Irish Church Quarterly; Vol. 7, 1914 * ''Fragment of a Celtic Cross Found at Drumcullin, King's County''; The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland; Vol. 8 1918

References and sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Purser, Olive 1886 births 1973 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin