25 August 2024
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
The Minaun Community Theatre Group Presents
A Medical Woman – The Life and Times of Dr. Mary Strangman [1872-1943]
Ballymaloe Grainstore, Shanagarry, Co. Cork
Saturday 7 September at 8pm
Dr. Mary Strangman [1872-1943] was an extraordinary Quaker Irish woman whose accomplishments were in danger of being forgotten. She was one of Ireland’s first medical doctors whose work saved countless lives among Waterford’s poor; an early lecturer in the field of alcohol and drug addiction; a pioneering suffragette; and, in 1912, Waterford’s first female city councillor.
Yet she is largely unknown to the Irish public. This is changing with the Large Room at Waterford’s City Hall recently renamed in her honour and with a new play, A Medical Woman – The Life and Times of Dr. Mary Strangman [1872-1943].
It will be performed for one night only, Saturday 7 September in Ballymaloe Grainstore, on the grounds of Ballymaloe House in East Cork. It is a most suitable setting as Mary’s close relative farmed the land on which the Ballymaloe Cookery School is now located.
Minaun Community Theatre Group in Co. Waterford spent a year researching, writing, producing and performing this 90-minute play depicting the extraordinary life of an extraordinary woman. In March, four performances in Waterford were completely sold-out.
A bit about Mary Strangman:
· Born in Carriganore, Waterford in 1872, Mary Somerville Parker Strangman was one of the first female medical doctors in Ireland. She lectured and was an early pioneer in the field of alcoholism and morphine addiction.
· Mary established a medical practice which provided free services to the poor. Despite male hostility, she successfully lobbied the Waterford City Council to provide adequate sanitation and a fully staffed medical dispensary.
· Mary became Waterford’s first female councillor in 1912. She campaigned for social reform and equal rights for women. True to her Quaker principles, Mary focused on providing for the poor. Most notably she tackled the horrific challenge of tuberculosis which ravaged a city with the highest infant mortality rates in the entire country.
· She was on the executive committee of the Irishwomen’s Suffrage Federation and was a founding member of the Women’s National Health Association which aimed to educate the public that tuberculosis was preventable and treatable.
This ambitious, original community theatre production shines a light on an unsung Irish heroine. The performance in Ballymaloe Grainstore is supported by Darina Allen and the Ballymaloe Cookery School.
Tickets are €20 and are available from www.ballymaloegrainstore.com.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE BALLYMALOE-MARY STRANGMAN CONNECTION:
The Minaun Theatre group have been invited to Ballymaloe to perform their play due to the strong connection between the Strangman and Allen families. Mary’s cousin Wilson, another formidable character, inherited Kinoith Farm in Shanagarry, Co.Cork from his father and hired Ivan Allen as his farm manager. Ivan was essential to the running of the large estate and farm. Their bond was so strong that on Wilson’s death in 1966, he bequeathed his land and home to Ivan and Myrtle Allen. This is now the location of Ballymaloe Cookery School and his home is where Darina Allen has lived for many years.