Amy Barrington (died 6 January 1942[1]) was an Irish teacher and scientist who was closely associated with the practices and beliefs of eugenics. She published several papers on that subject as well as indexing a work on history. She also wrote an account of the family history of the Barringtons. Amy Barrington herself states in 'The Barrington family history' that she occupied herself in learning and travelling for 26 years before deciding to pursue her family's ancestral history. She was the youngest daughter of Edward Barrington of Fassaroe, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland.
On 6 January 1942, Barrington died of congestive heart failure at her residence in Harlech, Dundrum, Co. Dublin. At the time of her death, her occupation was that of a 'gentlewoman'. According to civil records she was also a 'spinster' at the time of her death.[1] She left a total of £3,144 in her will,[2] which equates to approximately €153,570 in modern-day currency.
Extract from Knowing Their Place: Intellectual Life of Women in the 19th Century by Professor Brendan Walsh: "...She sat the Classical Tripos in 1885 and became a teacher in Australia at the Girls' Grammar School, Brisbane (1888–93) and three years (1888–91) in a school in Vancouver. In 1906 she became a lecturer in Bedford College Training Department in London (1907–19), working in teacher education. She also did pioneer work (1906–19) in eugenics at the Francis Galton Laboratory at University College, London..."[3][page needed]