Letitia Alice Walkington takes the first Royal University of Ireland degree awarded to a woman
- When
- 1882–1888
- Where
- Royal University of Ireland (Dublin-based examining university); Ireland
- Episodes
- 4
The Royal University of Ireland granted its first degree to a woman on 22 October 1884, to Charlotte M. Taylor (Bachelor of Music), during the year its first nine women students graduated. Letitia Alice Walkington, who matriculated in October 1882, completed her BA in 1885 and later became the first woman in Great Britain or Ireland to receive a Bachelor of Laws degree.
Episodes
- Matriculation Exam Passed
Letitia Alice Walkington passed the matriculation exam for the Royal University of Ireland in October 1882, enabling her academic path.
- First Degree Awarded to a Woman
On 22 October 1884 the Royal University of Ireland granted its first degree to a woman, Charlotte M. Taylor, a Bachelor of Music.
- Bachelor of Arts Completion
Walkington completed her B.A. in 1885, focusing on Logic, Metaphysic, and Political Economy, as part of the first cohort of female graduates.
- First Woman to Complete LLB
In 1888, Walkington became the first woman in Great Britain or Ireland to receive a degree of Bachelor of Laws from the Royal University.
Background and detail
Background. The Royal University of Ireland was founded under the University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university modelled on the University of London. A royal charter followed on 27 April 1880, with examinations open to candidates irrespective of attendance at college lectures. It became the first university in Ireland able to grant degrees to women on a par with those granted to men, and a high number of its graduates were women because Trinity College Dublin did not accept female students until 1904.
Academic Progress. Letitia Alice Walkington passed the matriculation exam for the Royal University in October 1882. As women who had passed this exam were permitted to take classes at Queen's College, Belfast, she pursued her studies. She completed her B.A. in 1885 and M.A. in 1886, focusing on Logic, Metaphysic, and Political Economy, before advancing to legal studies.
Legal Milestones. Walkington completed her LL.B. in 1888 and her LL.D in 1889, becoming the first woman to complete these last three degrees, and in 1888 became the first woman in Great Britain or Ireland to receive a degree of Bachelor of Laws. The Royal University was entitled to grant any degree similar to other universities in the United Kingdom, except in theology. In 1889 she took part in the "Congres International des Oeuvres et Institutions Feminines" in connection with the Paris Exhibition.
People involved
- Letitia Alice Walkington · Anglo-Irish lawyer who matriculated at the Royal University of Ireland in October 1882 and was among its early women graduates (BA 1885, MA 1886), later the first woman in Great Britain or Ireland to receive a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB 1888, LLD 1889)
Sources
- Royal University of Ireland Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-17
- Letitia Alice Walkington Wikipedia, revision of 2026-03-05
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.