We were sad to hear of the recent death of Professor Dervilla Donnelly, who was the first female president of the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), and who made an enormous contribution to the society over six decades.
An RDS member since 1963, Dervilla was president from 1989 until 1992. Professor Donnelly was always so supportive of the committee chairs and attended numerous meetings across science, business, arts, agriculture and equestrianism. She was extremely helpful to me as chair of the industry committee back in 2011. I saw Dervilla described recently in an article as one of the ‘most respected and influential chemists’ in University College Dublin where she worked for many years. She was a truly remarkable women who contributed so much to Irish society. May she rest in peace. DM
