Who are universities for?

In the early summer of 1904, Elizabeth Frances Brown, who was known in her family as Lizzie, travelled from Belfast to Dublin for her graduation ceremony. She was nearly 29, and had been studying for a degree since 1894. The ceremony was held at Trinity College, Dublin, but Lizzie’s degree was awarded by the Royal University of Ireland (RUI), and she completed it by correspondence. She had paid £1 to be entered for her final examinations – in English, French and German Literature – and £2, having satisfied the examiners, to be admitted to the degree. The journey, perhaps by train, must have been an additional expense. There is no record of whether Lizzie’s family travelled with her for the ceremony, or if there was a party at home in Belfast. There is a traditional graduation photograph: Lizzie is wearing a gown and a cap, perched on thick waves of hair. The back of an ornate chair is evident behind her. She looks almost at the camera, but slightly past it as well.

James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, which is set on 16 June 1904 in Dublin, records that there was a ‘prolonged summer drouth’ that year and that water levels were low. I like to imagine that Lizzie’s graduation took place on a sunny day. But Joyce’s weather was a touch of fiction. Gifford and Seidman (2008) suggest it was ‘normal Irish weather’ in 1904, and ‘far from dry’ (p 569).

I have inherited three books from Lizzie, who was my great-grandmother, which are bound in red or brown leather that is now slightly worn at the edges. They are collections of poems by Walter Scott, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning. In the front of each one is a card stating that the book was awarded as a school prize at Victoria College in Belfast, in 1890, 1891 and 1892 respectively. The school crest is embossed on the leather cover of each book. The cards state that the recipient, ‘E.F. Brown’, was awarded first place in her class in each year.

Lizzie was from a relatively poor family, all five of whose children were educated, including both of the girls and a son, Alf, whose legs were paralysed and who was carried to school by his siblings. He later became an architect.