Thread by @laurie_winkless

February 1st is a day of celebration for Irish people - for women, in particular. These days, it's branded as #StBrigidsDay, named after a catholic nun who went on to become one of Ireland's patron saints. But there was another Brigid that came before her (1/n)

Brigid was a Celtic Goddess, and one of the Tuatha Dé Danann - a tribe of gods who were said to inhabit ancient Ireland before the arrival of humans (2/n)

Some scholars believe that both Brigids are actually one-and-the-same - with the nun being a clever bit of repackaging as Pagan Ireland moved towards Catholicism. (Given the fact that the Catholic Church have a long history of doing stuff like that, it's probably true) (3/n)

Goddess Brigid was also celebrated on 1st February - and still is by those in the pagan community. Their feast day is called Imbolc. Either way, #BrigidsDay has long been considered a celebration of women, so I was delighted to speak @IrelandinNZ's big event yesterday (4/n)

@IrelandinNZ All of the performers who took to the stage last night - dancers, singers, poets.... and me, a science nerd - were women. And the awesome @aoinifh led proceedings in three languages - Te Reo, Gaeilge, and English. (5/n) #BrigidsDay

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh I was asked to speak about my career as a #WomenInSTEM, but instead, I took the opportunity to highlight five other amazing Irish women - all of them scientists and engineers - who are doing remarkable work. Here they are (6/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh 1. Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered pulsars during her PhD (but her supervisor got the Nobel). Alongside her research, JBB became first woman to lead the Institute of Physics. In 2018 set up a fund to support female, minority, and refugee students to do physics PhDs. (7/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh 2. Geneticist @aoifemcl who, at 27, became one of the youngest ever Professors @tcddublin. Her research is on how and why certain genes have evolved throughout history. And she was one of the 2018 Christmas Lecturers (alongside @theAliceRoberts) #BrigidsDay (8/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts 3. Ella Hammad, a civil engineer currently working on @TidewayLondon - a super-sewer under London. Ella's previous project was @Crossrail (which is how I first found out about her). She's also a very successful beauty blogger, and has been featured in @glamourmag (9/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag 4. Madeleine Lowery, a Prof of Electrical & Electronic Engineering @ucddublin. Her research explores the connections between our nervous system and muscles. Madeleine wants to develop treatments for Parkinson's disease by calming the tremors that characterise the condition (10/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin 5. Dr Ann Kelleher, senior vice-president for technology and manufacturing @intel. Ann joined the company as a process engineer after her PhD (she was the first woman to be awarded one from what's now called @TyndallInstitut). She currently leads a group of 30,000 people (11/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut As I said last night, those five #womeninSTEM represent only a tiny fraction of Ireland’s inspirational scientific diaspora, but they were all I could cover in my 6 min slot. There were SO MANY others I could have talked about, so I thought I'd share some of the rest here (12/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut 6. Sinéad Griffin @sineatrix who is a scientist @BerkeleyLab. Sinéad leads a theory and computation group that focuses on materials science - they explore everything from high-energy physics to materials to detect dark matter foundry.lbl.gov/about/staff/si…

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab 7. Dervilla M. X. Donnelly, Emerita Professor of Phytochemistry @ucddublin. Her specialism was wood chemistry, and her work has been central to the development of Ireland's forestry industry. She was the first woman to receive the Cunningham Medal from @RIAdawson #BrigidsDay

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson 8. Jenny Nelson, Professor of Physics @imperialcollege and Head of the Climate change mitigation team @Grantham_IC. Jenny is a world-leading expert on photovoltaic materials imperial.ac.uk/people/jenny.n…

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC 9. @orlamwilson, a senior lecturer in Materials Science and Engineering @JohnsHopkins. Orla has won at least three major teaching awards for her skills (2019 George E. Owen award, 2017 JHU Excellence in Teaching, 2014 Robert B. Pond, Sr. award) engineering.jhu.edu/materials/facu… (16/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins 10. You may know @twisteddoodles for her AMAZING illustrations, but Maria is also a microbiologist who is interested in combating healthcare-associated infections. If you've ever shared one of her doodles, consider buying her a coffee to say thanks ko-fi.com/twisteddoodles (17/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles 11. Shubhangi Karmakar is a postgrad researcher and med student @tcddublin. She founded @Repealist_, an organisation that has raised thousands of € for important causes. As if that wasn't enough, Shubhangi is also a fine artist and goldsmith! #BrigidsDay (18/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ 12. Róisín Owens AKA @biochemist_hero is a biochemist and lecturer @Cambridge_Uni. She focuses on the use of electroactive materials and devices to bridge the gap between hard materials and soft biological tissue #BrigidsDay (19/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni 13. @BlanaidWhiteDCU is an Associate Professor In Analytical Chemistry and is the Head of School of Chemical Sciences @DublinCityUni. She works to develop intelligent analysis tools to investigate a range of chemical and biochemical processes dcu.ie/researchsuppor… #BrigidsDay

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni 14. Nora Khaldi mathematician with a PhD in molecular evolution and bioinformatics. She founded the company @NuritasResearch which aims to discover and develop functional peptides that improve the nutritional characteristics of foods #BrigidsDay (21/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch 14. Sarah McCormack is associate professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering. She leads the Solar Energy Applications Group @tcd which focuses on photovoltaics. She was featured in the @RIAdawson 'Women on Walls' scheme ria.ie/women-walls-0 #BrigidsDay (22/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd 15. @drclairemurray is a Beamline Support Scientist @DiamondLightSou. She's worked on everything from perovskites to supramolecular chemistry. Working with @jesswade, Claire was also instrumental in getting INFERIOR into every school in Ireland (23/n) #BrigidsDay

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade 16. @lynchielydia leads a research group that bridges @Harvard @tcddublin. She's interested in how the immune and metabolic systems interact. The effects of obesity and diet on immune cell functions are her thing lynch-lab.org/research/ #BrigidsDay

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard 17. Sheree Atcheson @nirushika is Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Monzo and a Global Ambassador @WomenWhoCode. In 2017, she featured on @ComputerWeekly's list of Most Influential Women in UK Tech #BrigidsDay

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly 18.@claireoconnell is one of the best science writers around. She has a PhD in cell biology, so science, health and innovation are her specialisms, but she writes on lots of topics. You'll find her brilliant work @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes etc #BrigidsDay (some number/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly @claireoconnell @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes 19. Dr Marguerite Nyhan @margueritenyhan is a Lecturer in Environmental Engineering @UCC and a visiting scientist @Harvard. She's also worked with @UN & @MIT. Her interests are around designing sustainable, liveable, climate-friendly future cities #BrigidsDay (27/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly @claireoconnell @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes @margueritenyhan @UCC @UN @MIT 20. Ilaina Khairulzaman @_ilaina is the Head of international public engagement, training and marketing @senseaboutsci. She comes from an immunology / bioinformatics background, but these days, helps young researchers find (and use) their voice #BrigidsDay (28/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly @claireoconnell @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes @margueritenyhan @UCC @UN @MIT @_ilaina @senseaboutsci 21. Among many things, @UCC's Prof. Cora O’Neill is Director of the Cork Neuroscience Centre. Her research focuses on age-related neurodegenerative disorders, and she's currently doing some fascinating work on gut health ans Parkinson's science.sciencemag.org/content/364/64… #BrigidsDay (29/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly @claireoconnell @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes @margueritenyhan @UCC @UN @MIT @_ilaina @senseaboutsci 26. Niamh Kavanagh @NiamhTalking90 is science communicator with a PhD in future internet systems. She was invited to attend the 2019 Lindau meeting where she rubbed shoulders with lots of Nobel Laureates tyndall.ie/news/the-linda… (30/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly @claireoconnell @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes @margueritenyhan @UCC @UN @MIT @_ilaina @senseaboutsci @NiamhTalking90 27. Caitríona Lally @TrionaLally is a Professor of bioengineering. Her work focuses on arterial tissue mechanics, vascular imaging, and tissue engineering. tcd.ie/biomedicalengi… #BrigidsDay (31/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly @claireoconnell @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes @margueritenyhan @UCC @UN @MIT @_ilaina @senseaboutsci @NiamhTalking90 @TrionaLally 28. Fionnghuala O'Reilly is a NASA datanaut with a background in systems engineering. She is also the current Miss Universe Ireland, and is the first woman of colour to hold that title. She's using that platform to encourage more girls to consider STEM careers #BrigidsDay (32/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly @claireoconnell @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes @margueritenyhan @UCC @UN @MIT @_ilaina @senseaboutsci @NiamhTalking90 @TrionaLally Here endeth my thread of incredible Irish women in science & engineering. I'm sure I missed out on LOADS so please tag peeps I can include next time. Big thanks to @drclairemurray @jesswade @CriticalRedPen @AnnODeaSR who introduced me to some of these #MnáNahÉireann (33/n)

@IrelandinNZ @aoinifh @aoifemcl @tcddublin @theAliceRoberts @TidewayLondon @Crossrail @glamourmag @ucddublin @intel @TyndallInstitut @sineatrix @BerkeleyLab @RIAdawson @imperialcollege @Grantham_IC @orlamwilson @JohnsHopkins @twisteddoodles @Repealist_ @biochemist_hero @Cambridge_Uni @BlanaidWhiteDCU @DublinCityUni @NuritasResearch @tcd @drclairemurray @DiamondLightSou @jesswade @lynchielydia @Harvard @nirushika @WomenWhoCode @ComputerWeekly @claireoconnell @siliconrepublic @IrishTimes @margueritenyhan @UCC @UN @MIT @_ilaina @senseaboutsci @NiamhTalking90 @TrionaLally @CriticalRedPen @AnnODeaSR These women are role models for me, so I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate #BrigidsDay #StBrigidsDay than sharing a little bit about each of them. I hope you enjoyed it 🥰(34/34)