Philosophy for the Layman
By Fr. Aegidus Doolan, O.P., S.T.M.
Published Irish Rosary Office, Dublin, 1944.
Owner inscription:
Mary Ryan (Gortalough, Douglas, Co. Corke)
This is Mary Ryan (1873~1961), the first woman in Ireland to be a professor at a university. She was the Professor of Romance Languages at University College Cork in 1910*.
First edition hardback. 14 x 21.5 cm. 248 pages. Brown cloth spine and paper covered boards. Weighs 392 grams.
Some wear and discolouration to binding, including old sellotape stain to front and rear boards etc. Owner inscription to endpaper. Penned catalogue number and inked stamp of 'Spode House, Rugeley, Staffs'* to front endpaper. A little foxing to endpapers else contents very clean. Binding sound and contents complete.
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*Mary Ryan (1873 – 1961) was the first woman in Ireland to be a professor at a university. She was the Professor of Romance Languages at University College Cork in 1910.
Ryan was born on 14 December 1873 at 4 Thomas Street West, Cork city, to Edward Ryan and Matilda (née O'Connor) of Blackrock Road. Edward Ryan owned the soap manufacturing company which later made candles. The company became Kinsale Candles and now belongs to Punch Industries, a subsidiary of Henkel. Ryan's siblings were: Sir Thomas Ryan (Director-General, Indian State Railways); Sir Andrew Ryan KBE CMG (held high-ranking positions in British consular service, also a Cork graduate, and whose son Edward, MA BL, became Professor of Common Law and Dean of Law at UCC); and Archbishop Patrick Ryan OP (in religion Father Finbar), archbishop of Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Ryan attended, and was the first student, at St Angela's College in Cork; initially founded as a secondary school for girls by the Ursuline Sisters. The school extended its reach to become what was then known as a 'University top' where girls could get a University education before sitting the exams through the Royal University of Ireland. Women were not allowed to attend lectures in the University but they could sit the exams and get a degree. Ryan gained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1895 from the Royal University.
Appointed in 1909 as a lecturer in German, Ryan became the first woman professor when she was appointed in 1910 in University College Cork. Ryan was able to join the faculty because of the legislative change in 1908 which had created the National University of Ireland, a University system which did allow for the admittance of women. While this created greater opportunity for Ryan and others, it spelled the end of the women's colleges like St Angela's since they were no longer needed to give women a University education.
She was known for sending students to complete postgraduate education in the Sorbonne and she was awarded a Doctor of Letters for her publications. In 1935, she was awarded the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honour) by the French government (Third Republic), the first Irish woman to be so honoured.
In a letter to Aloys Fleischmann, Seán Ó Faoláin had this to say about Professor Ryan:
"Mary Ryan- a monster as a professor: a sweet old lady no doubt. Do you know what she used to do? She used to TEACH us! Sacred Heart-teaching in a University!!!! You know grammar and syntax and this and that and... Oh! And Ah! and groans. And everybody said she was marvellous because she did teach the little ducks, spoonfed them, breastfed them, predigested their pap for them,"
Ryan retired in 1938 and died on 16 June 1961 at Gortalough, Douglas, County Cork. She is buried in St Joseph's cemetery, Cork.
Prof Ryan was deeply religious, and her faith and academic nature is displayed in her contributions to publications such as the Dublin Review, Irish Educational Review, Blackfriars Monthly, and Irish Rosary.
In 2010 former President of Ireland Mary Robinson was part of the celebrations in University College Cork, held to commemorate the achievement of a woman being appointed as Professor for the first time.
The Mary Ryan Scholarships are awarded annually to language students by the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, UCC.
The Mary Ryan Seminar Room is located in the O'Rahilly Building, UCC.
In 2010, the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, UCC, created a film celebrating the centenary of Mary Ryan's appointment as professor. This included a tribute from Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland.
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Publications / Articles
The Faust legend and Goethe’s Faust, The New Ireland review 20 (Oct 1903), 88-102
Literature in education, Irish Educational Review (Apr 1909)
A French woman of letters, Irish Educational Review (Jun-Jul 1909)
Holy Cross Abbey, County Tipperary. With an account of Abbot Luke Archer, d. 1644, Journal of the Ivernian Society 2 (Sept 1909), 1-13
Ethical teaching in French schools, Irish Educational Review (May 1910)
Francis Thompson, ein katholischer Dichter, Hochland (Munich) (Dec 1910)
A European traveller in 1517, Irish Educational Review (Jan 1911)
Some recent works on the Reformation, American Catholic Quarterly (Oct 1911)
How they spread good literature in Germany, Irish Rosary (Feb 1912)
A moralist and his friends, Irish Educational Review (Jan 1913)
Some novels of a century ago, Irish Educational Review (Feb 1913)
From Florence to Constantinople, Irish Rosary (Apr 1913)
In and about Stamboul, Irish Rosary (May 1913)
Some women of the fourth century, Irish Educational Review (Aug 1913)
A German nun at the Reformation, Studies 2:8 (Dec 1913), 384-401
A fourth century woman traveller, Irish Ecclesiastical Record (Oct 1915)
Woman’s place in social work, C.T.S. Annual (1916)
Medical missions for women, Irish Rosary 20 (Jul 1916)
The centurion’s journey, Irish Rosary (Jan 1917)
Charles Péguy in his prose, Dublin Review (Jan 1918)
A criticism of a critic, Irish Rosary (Jan 1918)
A light set in a candlestick, Irish Rosary (Jul 1918)
A Dante discovery, Studies 10:39 (Sept 1921), 425-436
Contardo Ferrini: scholar and saint, Studies 17 (Sept 1928), 369-383
René Bazin 1853-1932, Studies 21 (Dec 1932), 627-634
The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and its founder, Studies 23 (Dec 1934), 634-648
Ludovico Necchi, Studies 24 (Dec 1935), 642-653
Alfred Noyes on Voltaire, Studies 26 (Jun 1937), 281-295; repr. Dublin: Browne and Nolan Ltd., [1938]
Saint Francis Regis, Studies 28 (Mar 1939), 85-97
Some impressions of Albania, Studies 28 (Jun 1939), 293-302
Random recollections, Cork University Record 5 (Christmas, 1945), 15-19
Clandel: poet of love, Studies 42 (Winter 1953), 440-445
Paul Claudel, Studies 44 (Summer, 1955), 143-150
Obituary, Professor E. M. O'Sullivan, U.C.C. Record 32 (Easter, 1957), 11-15
Plus articles and reviews in the Dublin Review, Irish Educational Review, Blackfriars, Month, and Irish Rosary
Books
Dr Agnes McLaren (1837-1913) (Catholic Truth Society, 1915)
The intellectual life: its spirit, conditions, methods, by A. D. Sertillanges; translated from the new French edition by Mary Ryan (Cork: The Mercier Press, 1946). Most recent repr. 1978.
Our Lady’s hours: an introduction to the little office of Our Lady (Cork: Forum Press, [1941?]; 2nd ed. (Cork: Mercier Press, 1946)
Out of the depths: notes on the office of the dead (Cork: Forum Press, [1943])
Introduction to Paul Claudel (Cork: Cork University Press, 1951)
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**Hawkesyard Priory was a Dominican priory off Armitage Lane Brereton, Rugeley, Staffordshire, England, built between 1896 and 1914 which included the Roman Catholic Priory Church of St Thomas.
The land at Armitage was purchased by Nathaniel Lister, (poet and author, Member of Parliament for Clitheroe and uncle of Baron Ribblesdale) following his marriage to Martha Fletcher a Lichfield heiress and he built the house in the Gothic Revival style about 1760. Originally named "Hawksyard", in 1760 the estate was renamed Armitage Park.
In 1839 was purchased by Mary Spode, widow of Josiah Spode III, grandson of Josiah Spode of the Spode Pottery works; it became known as "Spode House". Her son, Josiah Spode IV served as High Sheriff of Staffordshire and was also the warden and organist at St. John the Baptist Church in the nearby village of Armitage.
In 1885, Spode, and his niece, Helen Gulson converted to Catholicism at Stone, Staffordshire, where the English congregation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Sienna had their motherhouse.
Josiah lived at Spode House with his niece until his death in 1893 when the property was left to his niece Helen Gulson who had a vision of Mary in the gardens of the Hall. This vision led to the building of the Church at Hawkesyard with the Altar being placed on the very spot where Mary was seen. Helen Gulson left the Hall, Church and grounds to the Dominican Order and moved into a property in the Halls grounds which became known as Gulson House.
It was Spode's intention that Gulson should reside in the house and upon her death it should be donated to the Dominican order. However, Gulson decided to relocate to a cottage, elsewhere on the estate, and turned the hall over to the Dominicans.
New conventual buildings were funded by Gulson and when the friars moved into the new priory, the Hall became a school.
The church was built between 1896 and 1914 for the Dominican Order by the architect Edward Goldie. It consists of a hammer beam roof with eight bays of large perpendicular windows, with a facade of the Royal Chapel type, and a fan vaulted chapel on the south side.
Hawkesyard became the first Roman Catholic conference centre in the United Kingdom under the guidance of Fr. Conrad Pepler.
When the Dominican friars left the site in 1988 the Hall fell into a state of disrepair and was boarded up. In the 1990s the Priory and dorms were converted into a nursing home.
In 1999 the Hall and gardens were purchased by Relaine Estates Limited who were determined to return the building and surrounding grounds to their former glory. The Company decided to use the original name of Hawkesyard and set about the restoration of the building, partly by using photographs from Shugborough Hall's collection. The transformation of the Hall and outer buildings were completed in 2007. 6
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