Letitia Alice Walkington

Letitia Alice Walkington ( – 28 May 1918) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer who was the first woman to graduate with a degree of Bachelor of Laws in Great Britain or Ireland, which she received from the Royal University of Ireland.

Early life Letitia Alice Walkington was born about 1857 Letitia had at least one sister, Edith. The family were well connected in the city; in 1913 Edith and Letitia were both left £200 by Gustav Wilhelm Wolff of Harland & Wolff. She did not attend school until she was 16, instead being educated at home by governess. Then she went to boarding schools in England and Paris. Her mentor was the barrister Mr. Thomas Harrison. She completed her B.A. in 1885 and her M.A. in 1886, both in the area of Logic, Metaphysic, and Political Economy.

She was offered several positions from solicitors offices but although she could have completed chamber work, she instead coached other young women for examinations since there were limited opportunities for them in the schools. She did this along with Frances Helena Gray, the only other female law graduate, and Miss Hamilton. Walkington also worked on a device for embossing Braille.

Women's suffrage She was active in the suffrage movement and the temperance movement. In 1889 Walkington took part in the "Congres International des Oeuvres et Institutions Feminines" in connection with the Paris Exhibition as part of the Dublin Women's Suffrage Committee. She founded the Belfast Women's Suffrage Society in 1912 with Miss Montgomery, which became the Women's Political League in 1918, and helped start the Irish Women's Suffrage Federation. She also served as secretary for the Belfast chapter of the Church League for Women's Suffrage and worked with the Irish Women's Temperance Union.

She died on 28 May 1918 in Belfast and was buried at Knockbreda Cemetery in County Down.