“The First Woman to Address a Major Society of the College” — Sitting Down with Colette Weaire

“On any given graduation day in Front Square, students gather around the statue of George Salmon, smiling for photos and laughing at the irony. Salmon, who famously opposed the admission of women to Trinity, has become something of a campus caricature — a symbol of outdated resistance softened by time and student humour. Many are surprised to learn that women were only admitted to Trinity in 1904, but far fewer pause outside the Graduates Memorial Building to ask when a woman first stood up to speak within those debating chambers. The answer takes us to 1953. A glance at the Irish Times front page from that year shows a young woman beneath the caption: “Miss Colette O’Regan of UCG, who took part in the inter-university debate at Trinity College. She is the first woman to address a major society of the College.” That woman is now Colette Weaire, and sitting down with her more than seventy years later, it becomes clear that this moment was just one of many quiet firsts in her life. Colette grew up in east Galway and attended boarding school in the Ursuline College Sligo, where she was taught by nuns. Languages quickly became her strength. She recalls being told she was the first student in Ireland to sit the Leaving Certificate in Spanish, a subject so uncommon at the time that an examiner had to be brought from Belfast. French, by contrast, was taught with enthusiasm, and students were encouraged to spend time in France, though there was an expectation they would eventually return home. Her choice of university was shaped less by course offerings than by geography. “Where is closest?” she says, describing how she came to attend University College Galway (UCG), now the University of Galway. The flexibility of courses at the time allowed her to graduate in English, French, and Spanish, and once again she found herself the only student in Spanish classes. Student life in early 1950s Galway, she recalls, was “extraordinarily social,” though also strikingly homogenous. Most students were from the west of Ireland, and there were very few Protestants or international students. The only exceptions were a small number of German and French language assistants, along with some American medical students studying on the GI Bill. Arts courses were largely made up of women, but professional paths were more constrained. Medicine, for instance, was not widely seen as a suitable career for women, and many who trained as doctors left the profession upon marriage due to the marriage bar. Still, Colette credits these women with beginning to shift public attitudes. Looking back, she reflects that there has been “terrific change in the status of women,” though she is clear that at the time she personally felt supported, saying she received “nothing but help in every possible way in UCG.” When she speaks about the figures who shaped her worldview, a picture emerges of a generation caught between admiration and caution. Actress Siobhán McKenna was, in her words, “the most admired woman,” while Countess Markievicz remained an important political figure in public consciousness. Edna O’Brien, a contemporary, stood apart in a different way. “We were all very conventional,” Colette says, recalling how intimidated they were by her. “She surprised us.” There is a sense, in hindsight, that O’Brien’s boldness was not something her peers felt able to emulate. That tension becomes more pronounced when Colette reflects on what her generation failed to confront. She speaks candidly about the Magdalen laundries, describing how they were “discounted” and “disregarded” at the time, and is openly critical of that silence. Not knowing, she insists, is not a sufficient excuse. She also recalls Dr. Noël Browne and his attempt to introduce the Mother and Child Scheme, remembering that many students, herself included, recognised he was going against the grain and even attended protests in his support. Her own path into debating began at UCG, where she became involved in both the Debating Society and the literature club, giving talks on figures such as Oscar Wilde and Rupert Brooke. It was through a woman named Greta Duncan that she became involved in debating outside of Galway, though Colette can no longer recall exactly who Greta was or how she was connected to the university. What is clear is that Greta played a significant role in what happened next. When Colette arrived at Trinity in 1953 for an intervarsity debate, she had no sense that anything unusual was about to happen. She did not know that women had not previously addressed major societies in the College, nor did she expect Trinity to be any different from UCG. She recalls being treated with courtesy and being well received, though she notes that people were “surprised when a woman showed up.” Looking back, she wonders whether Greta may have deliberately omitted the fact that Colette was a woman when arranging the debate, effectively forcing Trinity to accept her participation and in doing so breaking a longstanding barrier. At the time, however, Colette did not dwell on the significance of the moment. It was only later that its importance became clear. Even now, she frames it less as a personal achievement and more as a turning point for the institution itself, reflecting that it “was a moment in time for Trinity more than for me.” She adds simply that “Trinity has changed a lot.” Shortly afterwards, she travelled to Scotland to speak in another debate at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, taking the side of Scottish independence before what she remembers as a large and enthusiastic crowd. With characteristic humour, she noted, “they’re still not independent,” and recalled being presented with a “scian” at the end of the event. Like her Trinity appearance, the opportunity had been organised by Greta Donkin, whose influence on her life she still reflects on, even as she regrets losing touch with her in later years. The Irish Times coverage that followed might suggest widespread recognition, but the reality was slightly more complicated. Colette points out that in Connacht, where she was from, few people read the Irish Times, which was widely perceived as Protestant despite being respected as a publication. She noted that people preferred a more “ostensibly Catholic paper”. The article came as a surprise to her, though she recalls that her family and friends were very pleased. Like many of her peers, Colette’s life after university was shaped by the expectation that she would leave Ireland. “All of us knew we had to leave,” she says, describing the lack of opportunities available at the time, particularly outside of medicine. England was the most common destination, though not always an easy one. She remembers being criticised, “politely but persistently”, for Ireland’s neutrality during the Second World War. Europe, by contrast, felt distant and unfamiliar, while the United States held appeal due to existing family connections. She reflects that Ireland still seems to have stronger ties to the US, UK, Australia, and Canada than to Europe, something she finds disappointing given her own interest in European languages. Her travels took her to France, Spain, and the United States, and living abroad exposed her to aspects of Irish life she had previously taken for granted. Censorship, in particular, stands out. Works like “Ulysses” were unavailable in Ireland, and even cinema was tightly controlled, despite the popularity of American films. It was only abroad that she fully grasped the extent of these restrictions. She also recalls the cultural atmosphere of post-war Europe, particularly in France, where the legacy of the Second World War remained a prominent feature of daily life. Later in her career, Colette helped introduce Spanish to the Dublin Institute of Technology, now TU Dublin, teaching Spanish for business alongside Dr. Carmen Kelly. In doing so, she contributed to the expansion of language education in Ireland at a time when European languages were still relatively marginal. Her personal connection to Trinity also endured, as she is married to Denis Weaire, former Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy. Throughout our conversation, Colette repeatedly describes herself and her peers as “conventional,” but her story suggests that she is anything but. From sitting the first Leaving Certificate in Spanish to becoming the first woman to address a major society in Trinity, and later helping to establish Spanish as a subject in Dublin, her life is marked by moments that quietly challenged expectations. What felt ordinary at the time has, in retrospect, become extraordinary, and her story offers a reminder that change often happens not through grand gestures, but through individuals who simply step forward without realising the ground they are breaking.

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