Aleen Cust,Trailblazer. The First Woman Veterinary Sugeon in Ireland & the UK... Or Indeed the World, a talk by Donal Connolly and Brendan Gardiner.

Join us in the library for tea, coffee and chat as we celebrate International Women's Day. All are welcome.

Venue: ATU Galway City Library (Dublin Road), Room 973

Date: Wednesday 08 March at 1pm

Aleen Cust was born into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family in the 1860's. Against all expectations, she determined to train and work as a vet, even changing her name to avoid embarrassing her family. Despite completing her studies successfully, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons refused to admit her to their register for nearly two decades. Undeterred, Aleen practiced despite them; first as a veterinary assistant to Roscommon vet, William Byrne, and then as a veterinary inspector for Galway County Council. 
An adventurous woman, she travelled to France in 1915 to help treat wounded horses during the Great War and finally ended her days in Jamaica.

Learn more by visiting the Aleen Cust, Trailblazer Travelling Exhibition which is currently on show in ATU's Galway City (Dublin Road) Library.

Donal Connolly and Brendan Gardiner are local vets whose interest in Aleen's story led them to form the Aleen Cust Memorial Society in order to research, document and honour her life and work.