Eileen McCracken

Eileen May McCracken
Eileen May McCracken
Born	Eileen May Webb; 16 February 1920; Lisburn, Ireland
Died	12 November 1988 (aged 68); Durban, South Africa
Nationality	Irish
Alma mater	University of Belfast: B.Sc; B.Sc Hons; M.Sc; PhD (1962)
	Scientific career
Fields	Botanist; Botanic gardens historian; forest history
Institutions	University of Witwatersrand: 1947-1949 Various schools including: Regent House School and St Mary's College, Clady

Eileen May McCracken (16 February 1920 – 12 November 1988) was an Irish botanist, geographer and historian of botany. She also wrote on the history of Irish Gardens.

Life

Born 16 February 1920 in Lisburn, Ireland, the daughter of Colin and Bessie Webb, McCracken was educated at the Friends' School Lisburn and the Queens' University, Belfast, where she gained her BSc and PhD (1962).[1]

On 8 April 1944 she married the historian Leslie (J.L.) McCracken MRIA (1914-2008). Three children: Sean, Donal and Dermot. She moved to South Africa in 1947, and lectured at the University of Witwatersrand, on geography. Returned to Ireland in 1950. Lived in Dublin, Derry and Portballintrae before returning to South Africa to retire in 1982. From 1959 until 1982 she owned a cottage at the seafront at Kilcoole, County Wicklow.

She wrote on the landscape of Ireland from Tudor times, on early Irish ironworks, on the early Irish plant nursery trade, on the Botanic Gardens in Belfast and on the Irish National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin.

She held strong views on various subjects, including the rights of women and greatly admired the women involved in the Irish War of Independence. She was a great lover of animals.

She died in Durban in 1988. A plaque of Wicklow granite set in the ground outside the Alpine House at Glasnevin Botanic Gardens reads: 'Eileen May McCracken 1920-1988 Botanist and Historian of this Botanic Garden'.

Legacy

Bound sets of her papers have been deposited at the National Botanic Gardens, and in the National Library of Ireland, Dublin.[2]

Bibliography

The growth and distribution of white population in South Africa from the second British occupation until 1951. Queen's University of Belfast. 1962.
The Palm House And Botanic Garden, Blefast. Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. 1971.
Irish Woods since Tudor Times: Their Distribution and Exploitation. David & Charles. 25 February 1971. ISBN 978-0715350089.
Eileen & Donal McCracken (1984). A Register of Trees for Co. Londonderry 1768-1911. Public Record Office N. Ireland.
"Tree planting by tenants in Meath, 1800 - 1850". Ríocht na Midhe. 1988–1989: 3–20. 1989.
E. M. McCracken and E. C. Nelson (1989). "Julius Wilhelm Keit, a German horticulturist at the Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin". Moorea. 8: 34–40.

References

Marilyn Ogilvie; Joy Harvey (2003). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. Routledge. p. 865. ISBN 9781135963439.
J. L. McCracken & E. Charles Nelson (1998). "Eileen May McCracken (1920-1988) – additions to her bibliography" (PDF). Glasra (new series). 3: 171.

External links

"Cumulative Index to Glasra and Occasional Papers of the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, 1976 – 1998".

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[1] Marilyn Ogilvie; Joy Harvey (2003). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. Routledge. p. 865. ISBN 9781135963439.

[2] J. L. McCracken & E. Charles Nelson (1998). "Eileen May McCracken (1920-1988) – additions to her bibliography" (PDF). Glasra (new series). 3: 171.