7. SVT Aleen Cust
Ensure you take time to note the pink plaque on the right of the gate here - it is dedicated to the first female vet in Ireland at the time, Aleen Cust, who practised here from 1900 to 1924. A veritable saint due to her pioneering status in a male-dominated business, Charlie Clarke's grandfather spoke very fondly of his dealings with her.
This woman was a trail blazer who fought against a wealth of prejudice in a male-dominated profession, but who always carried on regardless. The plaque was erected in 2007 by Women in Technology and Science and the National Committee for Commemorative Plaques in Science and Technology, with support from Veterinary Ireland.
Read her full story on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleen_Cust
Aleen Cust made history as the first female vet in either Ireland or Britain and faced great opposition despite females surely being infinitely more knowledgeable about giving birth than men!
Cust nevertheless went on to practise in County Roscommon with William Augustine Byrne MRCVS,[3] having received a personal recommendation from William Williams,[6] and lived at Castlestrange House (location of the Castlestrange stone, in the Suck Valley) near Athleague.[4] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that there is reason to believe that Byrne and Cust "lived as man and wife and that she had two daughters, born in Scotland, who were later adopted".[1] In 1904 she was briefly engaged to Bertram Widdington, the son of her former guardian, but following objections from his family regarding her career, the wedding did not go ahead.[8]
Source: Wikipedia