The story of Ireland’s first female botanist, told in words and pictures, with letters, specimens and drawings. Discover the life and times of a remarkable young woman from Ballylicky, Bantry Bay, West Cork. In just eight years of botanising, cut short by her death aged 29, Ellen Hutchins discovered many new species, and made a significant contribution to the understanding of seaweeds, lichens, mosses and liverworts.

Ellen was an accomplished botanist, a talented botanical artist, an endearing letter writer, as well as a devoted daughter and sister, and a kind friend. Her story is relevant to all those with an interest in botany, heritage, the history of women in science, the time (the early 1800s) and the place: Bantry Bay and West Cork.

An earlier version of this text was published as the essay, “Ellen Hutchins (1785-1815): Ireland’s First Female Botanist - Botany and Beauty, Landscape and Letters” by Madeline Hutchins in Volume Three of the Journey of the Bantry Historical & Archaeological Society (2018)

Madeline Hutchins (the author) is the great-great-grandniece of Ellen Hutchins.