Lucy Gwynn

Lucy Penelope Gwynn (1865-1947) was the first woman registrar of Trinity College Dublin.

Biography Lucy Gwynn was born in County Donegal in Ireland. Her father John Gwynn was a Syriacist and Regius Professor of Divinity at Trinity College Dublin. Her mother was Lucy O'Brien, daughter of MP William Smith O'Brien. She had one sister, Mary Gwynn, the wife of Henry Bowen and stepmother of the writer Elizabeth Bowen. She was a greatniece of Harriet Monsell (1812-1883). Trinity College had finally admitted women to the university just the year before, in 1904. Despite coming from a family of academics Lucy Gwynn had been unable to get a university education herself. She was 39 years old when appointed to her position in the university.

Students described Lucy Gwynn as a pioneer. Her role as women's registrar was described by one of her charges as "to control our movements to some extent and to protect the college and the students from criticism".

Lucy Gwynn never married. As an eldest daughter she was required to assist in the management of her parents' household and attend to them in their old age. From her mother's brother Robert Donough O'Brien (1844-1917), an architect, she inherited the house he had designed and built at Parteen-a-Lax in County Clare, close to Limerick City. It was there that she retired at the end of her working life. Her hobby was tending its beautiful garden which lay next to the river Shannon.

Notable events 1905 First large group of women students entered Trinity College Dublin in the Michaelmas Term. 1905 Lady Registrar appointed. Rules and Regulations for Women introduced. Women had to leave the college before 6pm, had to wear 'cap and gown' and could not visit private rooms unless accompanied by a chaperon. 1905 Elizabethan Society for Women founded; it organized a common room, debates, sports and lunch-room.

Lucy Gwynn Memorial Prize Founded, by subscription, in 1948 in memory of Lucy Gwynn it is awarded annually in the Michaelmas term to a Junior Sophister woman student for distinction in her course. The award is made by two women on the university staff nominated by the Board, and one of the female tutors. The value of the prize is €1,207.

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