Olive Purser (1886–1973), was one of the first women to enter Trinity College Dublin and was the first woman to be made a scholar.

[4][3] Purser was one of the first women to be admitted to Trinity College Dublin, entering in the Michaelmas term of 1904.

Within 2 years of the ban on women being lifted, she had become the first woman to be made a scholar under the TCD system on 11 June 1906.

At the time she achieved this, women were still not permitted to remain in the college after 6pm or to dine with the male students or staff.

Two years after she completed her degree in TCD, Purser become a temporary lecturer at the university, taking over for Edward Dowden.