Daphne Pochin Mould

Daphne Pochin Mould died at Aherla, County Cork, on 29 April 2014.

In 1993 she received an honorary doctorate from University College Cork when she was described as "a scientist and a free spirit, a courageous pioneer and an outstanding woman warrior". According to the late Professor Colm Ó hEocha, President of University College Galway there are three criteria for honorary doctorates from the National University of Ireland (of which Cork is a college):

Pochin Mould was born in Salisbury in England near Stonehenge in 1920. She studied geology in Edinburgh during the war. In 1946 she received her PhD in geology from the University of Edinburgh for her thesis entitled 'The Geology of the Foyers Plutonic Complex and the surrounding country'. Born into an Anglican family Pochin Mould first became agnostic, determined to attack religion in the name of truth. However, during the writing of one of her early books she converted to Catholicism and became Catholic on 11 November 1950. She moved to Ireland following her conversion and an interest in the Celtic saints and lived in Aherla, Co Cork, Ireland subsequently. Pochin Mould learned to drive at 17 and always had an interest in machinery. She learned to fly and found it useful for cataloguing archaeological sites in fields that could be seen from the air. She was known for being a skilled pilot.

Dr Daphne Desiree Charlotte Pochin Mould (15 November 1920 – 29 April 2014) was a photographer, broadcaster, geologist, traveller, pilot and Ireland's first female flight instructor. She had a strong interest in archaeology and took thousands of oblique aerial photos across most of southern Ireland. The collection created is private but is catalogued and some photos may be available.