Following A W Moore’s 1901 publication, Manx Worthies and the collection of biographies under the general editorship of Dollin Kelly in 2006 as New Manx Worthies, Sue Woolley undertook the task of choosing 40 more people who have made a telling contribution to the Island’s culture and life – some born in the Island, some adopting it as a home, some hardly ever here, but their work has resonated with the Island and its people.
Sue pointed out that the percentage of women amongst those commemorated in print so far has been very low, and her own selection has sought to redress that balance. After explaining about her project, which will shortly be available online, she outlined the contributions of three women and three men.
The first of the women could have been in A W Moore’s 1901 work, but he apparently chose not to include the redoubtable Nellie Brennan, who was well-known for her fearless care of the dead and dying during cholera outbreaks of the 1830s. She became the first matron of the hospital in Douglas, and died in 1859. Eliza Craven Green’s actual time in the Island was short, but had a lifelong affect, and inspired the emotional lyrics of Ellan Vannin. Sue’s third Worthy was writer, Dora Broome, whose two collections of Fairy Tales from the Isle of Man are well-known, but of whom personally people know little.
Sue’s selection of three men to talk about as a diverse sample of her forty subjects consisted of : Dr Ewan Corlett, who read engineering science at university, going on to be a naval architect and consultant, and instrumental in the recovery and restoration of Brunel’s SS Great Britain; the brilliant linguist, Lord Randolph Quirk; and award-winning photographer, Chris Killip.
Nyn mooise da Sue – thanks to Sue for sharing just some of the fruits of her researches with us in a very interesting presentation – a thoroughly worthy way to enjoy some time together.