Galway

Alice Perry became the first woman in Europe to receive a degree in engineering when she graduated from the Royal University, now known as NUIG, in 1906.

Born in Wellpark in 1885, Alice hailed from a strong engineering background. Her uncle, John Perry, was a Fellow of the Royal Society and is famous for inventing the navigational gyroscope. Her father, James Perry, was County Surveyor for Galway West.&nbsp;

The Perry brothers formed the Galway Electric Company in the late 1880s. They subsequently gained permission to erect electrical lighting poles around the city which ingeniously used the hydro-electric power of a turbine placed in an old flour mill at Newtownsmith.


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Electrically powered lamp posts in Berlin, 1884, cast a blue light similar to what the Perry brother's light poles would have cast in Galway.


Alice was one of 5 of James Perry's daughters and education was of utmost importance in their household. She excelled academically and won a scholarship to the Royal University, where she first studied Arts. After exceeding in maths she soon turned her focus to engineering, later achieving a first-class honours degree in civil engineering.&nbsp;

Following her graduation, Alice was offered a senior postgraduate scholarship but was not able to take up the opportunity as her father died a month later. She did, however, take up his post and was the acting County Surveyor for five months until April 1907, making her the only female to take this position.&nbsp;

Three months into her role the County Surveyor of Galway East also died, which led her to take on some of his responsibilities. Her work brought her all over the county in all kinds of weather, inspecting the likes of roads, buildings, and piers for upkeep and management of repairs.&nbsp;

The huge workload of her dual role and diligence to the job prompted a local newspaper, The Connaught Champion, to write of Perry "The many and arduous duties of County Surveyor have never been better or more faithfully discharged than since they were taken over by Miss Perry.”

In a second article by the provincial newspaper, they praised her yet again: "She is the brilliant daughter of a worthy father. After a distinguished collegiate course, she passed her final examination, taking the highest science and engineering degrees. She is the first lady in Ireland who has acted as County Surveyor… every member of the County Council has borne willing testimony to her outstanding ability.”

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Alice Perry Building, NUIG campus

When the opportunity arose to permanently fill the County Surveyor position she lost out due to not fulfilling the criteria set down for experience, age, and Irish language ability. There is no doubt in that era that her gender would also have been considered negatively for this ‘man’s job’.&nbsp;

With limited job prospects in rural Galway, Alice moved to London with her sisters in 1908. There she worked as a factory inspector for the Home Office, monitoring working conditions and laws regarding women's working environments.

Alice's engineering background also helped her to see potential dangers in the technical workings of these factories. She ensured that laws were enforced that would protect women from these dangers as well as wage cuts, injuries, exposure to toxic substances like lead and mercury and bullying such as sexual harassment.&nbsp;

Perry later moved to Glasgow, continuing work as a factory inspector and marrying her husband John Shaw in 1916, who died a year later on the Western Front. She emigrated to Boston in 1923 to work with the Christian Science Insitute where she was a practitioner and poet. She published seven books of poetry before her death in 1969.

The Alice Perry engineering building in NUIG was named in her honour, with an official naming ceremony held on March 6th, 2017.&nbsp;

Historic Figures of Galway: Alice Perry - a Pioneer for Equality

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