President's News

UCC’s Civil Engineering Building to be named after first female engineering graduate

22 Feb 2022
Iris Ashley Cummins (with trophy) pictured with the UCC ladies hockey club after winning the Munster Cup in 1914

On 22 February, UCC announced that its Civil Engineering Building is to be named the Iris Ashley Cummins building, in honour of UCC's first female engineering graduate.

This naming is reflective of the tremendous progress that Iris made in challenging the gender norms of her day. Iris graduated as Bachelor of Engineering (NUI) at UCC in 1915, becoming UCC’s first female engineering graduate. She later became the first female land surveyor for the Irish Land Commission and the first female Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in Ireland. Iris was also a talented hockey player, representing both UCC and Ireland at senior level.

This is the first UCC building to be named after an individual UCC female pioneer. It reflects UCC's ambition to place equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of all it does.

We are delighted to mark the naming of UCC's Civil Engineering Building in honour of Iris Ashley Cummins - UCC's first female engineering graduate. Iris is an exemplar for women in STEM.  She was an independent and creative thinker whose pioneering actions challenged the gender norms of her day. We are proud of her achievements, and we hope that everyone who passes through the doors of the Iris Ashley Cummins building will find inspiration in her legacy.  You cannot be, what you cannot see, and this is another important step in providing role models for our community.

 - Professor John O'Halloran, President of UCC

 

 

 

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