Inheriting a shipping company from her father, she captained the schooner Denbighshire Lass for over twenty years, and successfully fought rules forbidding women from having their name listed as the owner of a vessel.
[1][2] Her father, Edward Tyrrell, was a sea captain who owned a shipping company that transported cargo between Ireland and Wales.
As a temporary solution, a trusted male employee put his name on the documents, while Tyrrell ran all business operations, inspected repairs, and captained the crew.
Her last remaining sibling – the eldest Tyrrell sister – managed household affairs, while Kate supported them both through the shipping business.
[1] Throughout the 1890s, inspired by the growing women's suffrage movement, Tyrrell fought to have her name officially recognised on the ship's ownership documents.
[1] In 2017, Tyrrell's grandson donated a set of signal flags and a fid from the Denbighshire Lass to the Arklow Maritime Museum.