165:âA woman with a manâs job, which she carries out exceptionally well is Kathleen B Curran, Harbour Master and Secretary to the Port Authority and Galway PortâŚHer present responsible job includes arranging berthing accommodation for ships and attending to enquiries of shipâs masters ... She also on occasions takes the helm of the pilot boat, going out to ships to take off the pilot, and has many times been complimented on her excellent seamanshipâ
188:. She was employed by the Limerick Harbour Board from 1918 until her retirement in 1952. When she died in 1959, her obituary claimed that âIreland loses its only woman harbour masterâ and she was described as âprobably the worldâs oldest harbour master, and certainly the worldâs only woman to hold such a positionâ. The village of Glin erected a statue commemorating âIrelandâs only harbour mistressâ in 2000.
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Due to legislation in
Ireland which restricted the right of women to take public service jobs, the appointment was temporary and the Port Authority continued to seek men to fill the roles. In 1953, after nearly two years, Curran handed over the job to two men. The new harbour master was Captain James
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In 1951 she took on the combined functions of harbour master, Port
Authority secretary and collector after the retirement of the secretary, Mr J J Campbell, and of the harbour master, Captain Thomas Tierney. At the time she was the only woman in Ireland to have done so. In 1953, she was featured in a
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Kathleen
Bernadette Curran was born in Galway on 27 February 1912 to Mary Carroll and Patrick Curran, a coachman and gardener. She was one of seven children. The family lived on College Road, near the Port of Galway. She attended the Mercy Convent school. The family was deeply
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As a young woman, she was engaged to be married to
Captain William Goggin but her mother did not give the marriage her blessing and the engagement was ended. Curran lived with sister Maureen for the rest of her life. One of
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Waterway from at least 1901 (when it was recorded in the census) until her death in 1907, when her sister
Elizabeth took on the role. These harbours would have been significantly smaller than the port of Galway.
179:
Curran has been credited as the first female harbour master in
Ireland. Though no official record exists, there is evidence that at least three women had earlier held the title of harbour master or mistress.
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around when he visited Galway. She also volunteered for the lifeboat services and was second coxswain of the Galway lifeboat. She worked first as an assistant and then as pilot, guiding ships into harbour.
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was hailed as the âfirst female harbour master in the history of the island of
Ireland and one of only two in the United Kingdomâ after her appointment as harbour master of
208:
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Curran retired in the 1970s after 45 years of service to the port of Galway. It was her habit to walk by the docks every day. She died in 1995.
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from 1951 to 1953, the âonly woman in
Irelandâ to have filled these roles. She has been credited as being the first female harbour master in
422:
McAuliffe, M. (2011). The Irish Woman Worker and the
Conditions of Employment Act, 1936 Responses from the Irish Free State Women Senators.
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When she left school, Curran began working for the Galway
Harbour Board. In 1935, Curran was given the task of showing Hollywood actor
321:
Murphy, M. J. 2017. 'Kathleen B. Curran, 1912-1995: The World's First Female Harbour Master'. Journal of the Old Tuam Society, 14.
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and she took on the role after his death. She was harbour mistress from 1911 until her own death in 1918. Mary Corrigan in
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Whyte. It was said that subsequent harbour masters never made an important decision without âa word with Kathleenâ.
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Kieran Woodman, âsafe and commodiousâ: The Annals of the Galway Harbour Commissioners, 1830 â 1997, p230.
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As a child, Curran would often stand on the docks and âgaze in wonder at the ships, boats and trawlers,
410:
Clear, C. (2013). Womanâs Life magazine and womenâs lives in Ireland in the 1950s. Saothar, 38, 73â81.
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submarine in 1939 and when The Moyalla ran aground on Black Rock in 1946. When the remains of
81:(27 February 1912 â 1995) was secretary, collector and harbour master (acting) of the Port of
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Death and funeral of Mr George Fitzell, Saleen, Ballyongford, The Kerryman, 14 January 1911
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Curran was appointed secretary to the Harbour Commissioners. She was on the board when the
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were repatriated from France in 1948, Curran coordinated the event from the Galway end.
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took on the role after the death of her brother James, the harbour master at Glin,
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Ellen Fitzell's husband George was harbour master in Saleen Quay, Ballylongford,
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Ireland Loses its Only Woman Harbour Master, Limerick Leader 29 June 1959, p46
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First lady of the Estuary, Martin Byrnes, Limerick Leader, 28 March 1998, p8
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and gleoteĂłigsâ. She also read widely about seafaring. Her cousin was
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Slater, S (2022). 100 Women of Limerick. Ormston House. p206-207.
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Birth registered in the district of Galway, 27 February 1912
121:-based writer, many of whose books were made into films.
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1901 Census of Ireland, Townparks (Antrim Rural, Antrim)
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1911 Census of Ireland, Kilcolgan Upper (Tarbert, Kerry)
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Curran was on the committee organising the building of
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Death certificate of Ellen Fitzell, 11 October 1918
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518:Death registered in the District of Antrim, 1909
16:For the science fiction and horror writer, see
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129:âs sisters lived with the sisters for a time.
473:Irish Independent, 30 December 1999, page 8.
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342:Womanâs Life magazine, 10 January 1953.
270:"Dealing with whatever the ocean sends"
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379:"The poet and his legend returns home"
72:First female harbour master in Ireland
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219:âs second commercial port, in 2016.
354:"The woman at the end of the table"
231:in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
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377:O'Gorman, Ronnie (June 14, 2018).
268:OâGorman, Ronnie (June 21, 2018).
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352:OâGorman, Ronnie (June 7, 2018).
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161:column in Woman's Life magazine:
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106:and Gaelic heritage in Curran.
529:"Cork Institute of Technology"
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533:Cork Institute of Technology
199:was harbour mistress of the
102:and instilled a love of the
64:Galway Harbour Commissioners
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175:First female harbour master
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569:20th-century Irish women
139:Charles âBuddyâ Rogers
207:More recently, Capt
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193:County Kerry
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115:Peter B Kyne
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18:Kate Wilhelm
564:1995 deaths
559:1912 births
213:Warrenpoint
100:nationalist
553:Categories
538:2023-03-26
388:2023-03-26
363:2023-03-26
279:2023-03-26
238:References
223:Later life
201:Lower Bann
93:Early life
53:Occupation
430:, 37â46.
215:Harbour,
436:23200046
155:WB Yeats
61:Employer
424:Saothar
147:Athenia
111:hookers
87:Ireland
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197:Antrim
151:German
133:Career
83:Galway
39:Galway
432:JSTOR
117:, a
48:1995
45:Died
33:Born
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