Untold Stories | Celebrating the History of Women in Science

In The Coroner’s Daughter, Abigail Lawless rails against the restrictions placed on inquisitive and scholarly women. In A Quiet Tide, Ellen Hutchins determines to make her mark as Ireland’s first female botanist. This discussion will discuss the forgotten women of scientific history and the characters inspired by them.

Born in Co. Wexford, Andrew Hughes was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. A qualified archivist, he worked for RTÉ before going freelance. His debut novel, The Convictions of John Delahunt, was shortlisted for the Bord Gáis Irish Crime Book of the Year. The Coroner’s Daughter was nominated for the CWA Historical Dagger.

Marianne Lee works as a designer and copywriter. Her debut novel, A Quiet Tide, a fictionalised account of the life of Ellen Hutchins, Ireland’s first female botanist, was published in 2020 by New Island. A Quiet Tide was shortlisted for the 2021 Kate O’Brien Award, featured on RTÉ Radio One Book on One in spring 2022, and was recently reissued as a paperback. Marianne is currently adapting A Quiet Tide for the screen and working on her second novel.

Dr Sandra Collins is University Librarian at University College Dublin. Originally a mathematician, she has worked in digital innovation and cultural heritage over 25 years in the public and private sectors. She was previously the Director of the National Library of Ireland, the founding Director of the Digital Repository of Ireland in the Royal Irish Academy, a Scientific Programme Manager in Science Foundation Ireland, a Master Engineer in Ericsson Telecommunications, and a Mathematics lecturer in Dublin City University. She received her PhD in nonlinear fluid dynamics from UCD in 1996.