International Womens Day 2024

From historical figures such as Sarah Leech (one of the early Ulster-Scots Rhyming Weavers) and Anne Acheson (sculptor and pioneering designer) to today’s trailblazers including Paula McIntyre (MBE, celebrity chef, food writer) and Helen Mark (radio presenter), while our own staff play a vital role in every single area of our work.  

All of these women, alongside many others, have contributed greatly to Ulster-Scots history, heritage and language; and proudly continue to inspire females around the world to embrace our living culture and discover more Ulster-Scots.   

Today, we highlight just a small selection of these women and their legacy and contribution to Ulster-Scots.  

Anne Acheson: Sculptor 

Anne Crawford Acheson was born in Portadown in 1882. She was a sculptor and pioneering designer who revolutionised the treatment of fractures during the First World War. Such was Anne’s groundbreaking achievements that she was awarded the CBE by the King in 1919. The use of Plaster of Paris which Anne used in her sculpture changed medical history for decades. 

Amy Carmichael: Missionary 
Amy Carmichael was born on 16 December 1867 in Millisle. She was the oldest of three sisters and four brothers. Following the death of her father, a mill owner, the family moved to Belfast where Amy became involved in the city’s mission work. In 1895 she journeyed to India and two years later formed the ‘Woman’s Band’, taking in the first female refugee the following year and the first girl refugee the year after. 

Despite ill health and an injury which left her mostly bed-ridden for the last 20 years of her life, Amy served in India for 56 years, without a break, and wrote many books about missionary work.  Her hands-on approach to helping the lowest and most socially disadvantaged people in Indian society and her efforts to fit into the culture of the country where she worked was unusual at that time. She brought about social innovation in the way missionary work has been carried out since. 

Anne McMaster: Poet and Playwright 

Anne McMaster is a poet and playwright from Garvagh who writes in both English and Ulster-Scots. Her debut poetry collection ‘Walking Off the Land’ was published in June 2021 and ‘Póames’ (poetry in Ulster-Scots), was published in 2022. She has also produced poetry for the BBC, the British-Irish Secretariat, the Ulster Orchestra and Réalta.  

Anne is director of the Spread the Word literary festival and is a mentor to new Ulster Scots writers. 

Annie Maunder: Astronomer  

Annie Scott Dill Maunder (née Annie S.D. Russell) was born in Strabane, County Tyrone, in 1868.  She contributed greatly to the area of astronomy, including recording the first evidence of the movement of sunspot emergence from the poles down towards the equator. Sunspots are natural phenomena on the sun’s surface that appear as temporary spots which are darker than the surrounding areas.   

However, her contribution to astronomy was downplayed at the time of her work because of her gender. She studied at Girton College in Cambridge and in 1890 she was turned down for a job at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.  It would be a year later, in 1891, when she was accepted by the Observatory and commenced work in the solar department.  

In 1895, Annie married fellow astronomer Walter Maunder, with whom she had worked on the Greenwich photoheliograph (a solar telescope) programme.  Her marriage subsequently meant she had to resign from her job as there were restrictions on married women working in public service at the time.  She did not stop working in the field, however, accompanying her husband on a number of solar eclipse expeditions. Annie also co-authored with her husband on papers while she published the work ‘The Heavens and their Story’ in 1908, with her husband Walter as a co-author.   

Cecil Francis Alexander: Hymnwriter 

Cecil Frances Alexander was born in Dublin but spent a good part of her later life in Londonderry and Strabane. Her husband, William Alexander, who was from Londonderry, was appointed Church of Ireland bishop of the city in 1867. He later became Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.  

Cecil Frances was a keen supporter of the Oxford Movement, and in 1848 published Hymns For Little Children, which include three of the most popular hymns in the English language: “Once in Royal David’s City”, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, and “There is a Green Hill Far Away.”  

A further selection of her works – hymns, tracts and poems – was published a year after her death. 

Helen Mark: TV and Radio Presenter   

Originally from the Scottish Borders, Helen Mark is proud to call herself a modern-day Ulster Scot. She has had a presence on BBC Radio and TV for some 35 years, both in Northern Ireland and on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Open Country’ programme.  

She has brought Ulster-Scots language, heritage and culture to the media (most recently on BBC NI’s ‘Kintra’ programme), shining a light on our communities and individuals across the country. 

Helen is also a Board member of the Belfast International Tattoo which provides a unique platform for Ulster-Scots culture within an international festival. In 2022, she was one of the team of advisors on the Department for Communities’ Ulster-Scots Language, Heritage and Culture Strategy and recently contributed to the UK Government’s Culture, Media and Sports Panel on Minority Language in the media. 

Paula McIntyre MBE: Chef, Food Writer, TV & Radio Personality 

Celebrity chef and food writer, Paula, has always been immensely proud of her Ulster-Scots heritage and this clearly shows in her work, interviews and cooking inspiration.  

From County Londonderry, Paula is no stranger to the radio and television, with her latest offering, Paula McIntyre’s Hamely Kitchen airing in 2023. Paula’s work can also be found in magazines and newspapers throughout Ulster with regular recipe columns and interviews. 

Paula lectures in catering and also guest chefs at events throughout the year, as well as sitting on several judging panels and working as chef demonstrator and live cookery theatre host for the past few years with FoodNI at events such as Balmoral Show and Glenarm Castle Festival. 

Happy International Women’s Day to all of our Ulster-Scots women – past, present, and future.