Mary Mulvihill

Mary Mulvihill (1 September 1959 – 11 June 2015) was an Irish scientist, radio television presenter, author and educator. She founded and served as the first chairperson of Women in Technology and Science (WITS), and is viewed as a pioneer of science communication in Ireland. She was featured in Silicon Republic's 100 Top Women in STEM list.

Early life Mulvihill studied at Trinity College Dublin, where she was elected a Scholar in Natural Science in 1979, and graduated in 1981 with a degree in genetics. She then went on to complete a master's degree in statistics in 1982 at Trinity.

Until 1987, she worked as a Research Officer for An Foras Taluntais (now Teagasc). She later attended Dublin City University to study journalism, earning a diploma in 1988.

Broadcasting Mulvihill was the creator and host of a number of popular science series for RTÉ Radio 1 and Lyric FM. Two of the radio series she developed centred on the collections of the National Botanic Gardens, Washed, Pressed and Dried (2007), and of the Natural History Museum, Chopped, Pickled, and Stuffed (2006).

Her work in broadcasting led her to develop a series of walking tours of Dublin, which took in the scientific history. These tours were also available as podcasts. The accompanying website maps places of historic interest linked to STEM in Ireland, as well as sites of ecological and archaeological interest. A similar set of audio tours were developed by Mulvihill, in collaboration with Matthew Jebb for the National Botanic Gardens.

In 2014, she launched the exhibition SeaScience and Exploration Zone at the Galway City Museum.

Writing Mulvihill served as the co-editor of Enterprise Ireland’s bi-monthly magazine Technology Ireland. She was also a regular contributor to The Irish Times.

Mulvihill, M. (ed) (1997). Stars, Shells, & Bluebells: Women Scientists and Pioneers. Dublin: Women in Technology and Science (WITS). Mulvihill. M. (2002). Ingenious Ireland: A County-by-County Exploration of Irish Mysteries and Marvels. Dublin: Town House. Mulvihill, M. (ed) (2009). Lab Coats and Lace. Dublin: Women in Technology and Science (WITS). Mulvihill, M. (2009). Drive Like a Woman, Shop Like a Man. Dublin: New Island Books. Mulvihill, M. (2012). Ingenious Dublin. e-book: Ingenious Ireland.

Mulvihill was also a blogger, and was involved in Silicon Republic's Women Invent initiative and curated their list of Ireland's Greatest Women Inventors, in which younger people were encouraged to vote for their favourite.

In June 2020 Dublin City University announced a posthumous DCU Alumni Award for Mulvihill for Outstanding Achievement in the area of Societal Impact.