Blazing a Trail: Irish Women Who Changed the World

A book for everyone who dreams of changing the world. From fearless aviator, Lady Mary Heath, the first woman in the world to parachute from an aeroplane, to Margaret Bulkley, the 18th-century surgeon who lived as a man, meet 28 remarkable Irish women who have taken the world by storm. You may have already heard some of their names, like Countess Markievicz and Mary Robinson, but others, like Anne Sullivan, Lilian Bland or Anna Haslam, may be new to you. Packed with fun, fascinating facts and stunning, full-page illustrations, this book celebrates the trail blazers who have shaped the world we live in. Ready to walk in their footsteps? A world of bravery and discovery awaits you. Made by two remarkable women, author Sarah Webb and illustrator Lauren O'Neill.

Table of Contents:
About this Book by Sarah Webb and Lauren O’Neill 5 GRANUAILE clan leader and sea captain 6–7 MARIA EDGEWORTH bestselling author and educationist 8–9 DR JAMES BARRY daring surgeon 10–11 ANNA HASLAM suffragist 12–13 MOTHER JONES labour organiser and champion of child workers 14–15 NELLIE CASHMAN gold prospector and businesswoman 16–17 SARAH PURSER artist, patron and businesswoman 18–19 MAUD GONNE nationalist and activist 20–21 ANNE SULLIVAN groundbreaking teacher 22–23 COUNTESS MARKIEVICZ rebel leader and politician 24–25 ALEEN CUST Ireland’s first female vet 26–27 DR KATHLEEN LYNN doctor and nationalist 28–29 HANNA SHEEHY SKEFFINGTON suffragette, nationalist and human-rights campaigner 30–31 LILIAN BLAND pioneering aviator 32–33 EILEEN GRAY designer and architect 34–35 MÁIRE NÍ CHINNÉIDE founder of camogie and Irish-language activist 36–37 LADY HEATH aviator and Olympian 38–39 MAINIE JELLETT artist and designer 40–41 DAME NINETTE DE VALOIS founder of the Royal Ballet 42–43 DAME KATHLEEN LONSDALE crystallographer 44–45 MAUREEN O’HARA actor and businesswoman 46–47 SYBIL CONNOLLY fashion designer and businesswoman 48–49 KAY MCNULTY MAUCHLY ANTONELLI digital computer programmer 50–51 MAEVE KYLE Ireland’s first female Olympian 52–53 DAME JOCELYN BELL BURNELL astrophysicist 54–55 ANNE O’BRIEN professional international footballer 56–57 SONIA O’SULLIVAN world champion athlete 58–59 MARY ROBINSON Ireland’s first female president 60–61 BLAZING A TRAIL INTO THE FUTURE 62–63 About the Author and Illustrator 64

About the Author :
Sarah Webb is an award-winning children’s writer. She won Irish Book awards for Blazing a Trail: Irish Women who Changed the World (illustrated by Lauren O’Neill) and A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea: Favourite Rhymes from an Irish Childhood (illustrated by Steve McCarthy). Sarah runs creative writing clubs for young writers, reviews children’s books for the Irish Independent, programmes many children’s and family events and works part-time in a children’s bookshop. Passionate about bringing children and books together, Sarah was awarded the Children’s Books Ireland Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Books in Ireland. www.sarahwebb.ie Lauren O’Neill is an illustrator and graphic designer. Originally from Wexford, she moved to Dublin to study in NCAD and stayed. Her work has appeared across a wide variety of areas from advertising campaigns to storybooks and gallery exhibitions. She has illustrated many books including Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, which won the Children’s Books Ireland Merit Award for Illustration, and Blazing a Trail which won the Children's Book of the Year (senior) Irish Book Award in 2018. www.laurenipsum.ie

Review :
packed with fascinating facts and stunning illustrations a grand gathering of exploits and role models this is the book for every little girl who dreams of changing the world .. beautifully illustrated beautiful, accessible … Webb’s skill as a storyteller ensures that each entry is clear, engaging and sure to spark further research and discovery for young readers. O’Neill’s conceptual illustrations are perfectly paired with the succinct prose … the sense of celebration and joy that emanates from O’Neill’s work is positively infectious … Blazing A Trail helps illuminate some of the gaps in our collective understanding of the past, and it does so with style A beautiful accessible book … O’Neill’s accompanying portraits are stunning  fascinating fantastic reads for girls and boys stunning tribute to the Irish women who changed the course of history with their incredible achievements a wonderful, celebratory book about extraordinary Irish women who took the world by storm. Packed with fun, fascinating facts, this book celebrates women from every walk of life down through the ages and picked up a prize at the recent An Post Irish Book Awards a perfect resource for SESE and SPHE … this book will inspire, motivate and enthral your eight-12 year olds … written by the renowned author Sarah Webb and beautifully illustrated by Lauren O’Neill beautifully illustrated … a true celebration a salute to the remarkable women who changed history … beautifully illustrated … a true celebration of Irish Women beautifully illustrated perfect present ... empowering telling a different story each time you turn the page in clear concise language to make it perfect story time fare. Younger bookworms will especially appreciate the access to the fascinating real-life tales of these icons who changed, not just Ireland, but the entire world … This is a book that will not spend much time on the shelf, as you will spend hours glued to the page an amazing, inspirational book a must-read for any kid it’s so beautiful … an awful lot of women we would not have heard of, but should have heard of, especially for young women I was sent a copy of a book recently, the just published Blazing a Trail: Irish Women Who Changed the World, written by Sarah Webb, and beautifully illustrated by Lauren O’Neill. On first appearance you might actually think this is a children’s book, and in some ways it is, bringing to life for all ages stories of Irish women down through the ages – women who left their mark on the world, blazing their own trail, cutting a groove for others to follow in their footsteps … these examples show what is possible when a girl has that dream, and pursues that dream of a life in sport through hard work and determination a fabulous book Children’s Book of the Week - beautifully illustrated … a perfect gift the illustrations in the book are really wonderful … you tell a great story … fantastic … should be on the curriculum the perfect book for young girls who are looking for inspiration, looking for role models ... beautifully illustrated by Lauren O’Neill a book of extraordinary Irish women created by two great ones If you want to feel inspired, read this book about trailblazing Irish women the list is wonderfully varied – here are suffragists, scientists, artists, aviators, entrepreneurs and sportswomen, and their lives and achievements are energetically though thoughtfully summed up in Sarah Webb’s text, one page per subject. A successful author of fiction, Webb gets the tone spot on, lively and engaging with a real sense of excitement and awe at the way her subjects negotiated the obstacles in their way to pioneer a trail for women. Lauren O’Neill’s accompanying full page illustrations have equal amounts of vigour bringing these women to colourful life … a book to inspire all readers love the full page illustrations by Lauren O'Neill, which combine aspects of the achievements along with a portrait - cleverly done and a good way to stimulate discussion. Packed with fun, fascinating facts this book celebrates some of the trail blazers who have shaped the world we live in an essential for every young girl on the Emerald Isle. It is so important to educate young women about our history and the women who paved the way for them in the past the moving stories, stunning illustrations and empowering icons make this book a perfect guide for the future Mná na hÉireann. Blazing A Trail is written by the phenomenal Sarah Webb and features flawless illustrations by Lauren O’Neill whether changing the world in a blaze of publicity or doing so quietly and largely unnoticed, the women featured in Blazing a Trail certainly provide inspiration for those who of making their own mark on the world in the future this interesting volume sets the record straight on a segment of Irishness that has sometimes been ignored