There is a group of editors called the Wiki Women in Red (WWR) who aim to address the gender bias in Wikipedia’s profiles of ‘notable people.’ Since 2014, when only 15.5% of profiles in English language Wikipedia were about women, they have steadily added more, including Dora, so that now over 20% of profiles are about women. Quite an achievement but still a way to go!
Social media is a mixed blessing but it recently connected me to one of these WWR editors. I was pleased to be able to thank somebody for adding Dora and she also told me that Dora’s Wikipedia page has been viewed 6,276 times since it went live three years ago. I’m thrilled! Gone but not forgotten, and probably a better commemoration of her life than a headstone on her grave.
This year I spoke about Dora at the Women’s History Association of Ireland conference in May, which also allowed me to meet up with my Irish cousin, Sandra. She added to my knowledge of my Irish family history, which was really helpful. And we had great fun visiting Hook Head! On the way back to Dublin I stopped at Kilkenny to admire the round tower at St Canice’s cathedral. Round towers are a recurring detail of Dora’s life – there’s one at Glendalough and another at Loch Morar.
I have been rewriting my novel about Dora, taking advantage of a week at the Moniack Mhor writers’ retreat centre near Inverness. It was great to be among writers and they helped me find a new and better title for the book. It’s now called A Bitter Equation and I am trying to find a publisher for it.
In the autumn I was interviewed about Dora for the Infinite Women podcast. The episode is due to air in Spring 2026 – I will keep you posted! It’s great that there are so many individuals, groups and organisations now celebrating women in history and raising awareness of their achievements.
A Bitter Equation 