The first female engineer to graduate from University College Cork was honoured today with the naming of its civil engineering building - the Iris Ashley Cummins building - after her.
A talented hockey player who represented both her college and Ireland at senior level, Iris graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in 1915 and would become the first female land surveyor for the Irish Land Commission and the first female Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland.
The naming of the civil engineering building took place today to highlight 'Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day' this Thursday.
UCC President John O'Halloran said Iris was an independent and creative thinker whose pioneering actions challenged the gender norms of her day.
Her grandnephew Don Hearn welcomed today's naming ceremony saying it made her family very proud to see her memory being kept alive in this way.
"I think she would be especially pleased to know that this is the first of UCC's buildings to be named after a female pioneer."
