Lillian Bland: "The First Woman In The World To Design, Build & Fly A Plane"

 
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Meet Miss Lilian Bland

Lillian Bland was the first women in the world to design, build and fly her own aeroplane.

She was also a sports journalist, photographer, investor, gambler, smoker, mechanic, hunter, markswomen, the owner of Belfast’s first Ford Dealership and the first woman in Northern Ireland to apply for a jockey’s license.

Living at Tobercorran House in Carnmoney near Glengormley, her curious, defiant free-spirit shattered the societal norms of women living in Presbyterian Ulster during the 1900s.

Lilian’s family home no longer stands…

Lilian’s family home no longer stands…

But despite all her achievements and quirks, very few people in Northern Ireland today even knows the name Lillian Bland, never mind the inspiring details of her story.

In today’s episode, we set out on another journey through the pages of local history to find out more about this incredible woman, and the streets she once called home.

Check it out.

Introducing The Streets Where They Lived…

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This episode is part of The Streets Where They Lived: a new documentary collaboration between Successful Belfast, the Belfast Buildings Trust, and Best of Belfast. 

The six-part series will feature the stories of six incredible but sometimes overlooked men and women from Belfast and some of the buildings and places in the City with which they’re connected. We’ll hear from family members and people who know their story to help us better understand some of the lesser-told stories of the City. 

The people and buildings have been chosen to reflect a diverse set of Belfast’s people: working-class to Knights, industrial power to sporting prowess, immigrants and survivors, and covers buildings from Arts centres to the old Town Hall, red-brick terraced houses to historic Victorian churches and industrial complexes.

The project is a collaboration with Successful Belfast, a project of Belfast Buildings Trust. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Belfast Buildings Trust is a charity founded in 1996 to regenerate Belfast’s landmark buildings. The Trust works to ensure that the City’s authentic heritage is made relevant for people today. One of its projects is Successful Belfast, which champions new and creative ways of involving people in Belfast’s future development.  

Support for the series came from a wide range of local historians, heritage, and civic organisations. All of them helped make today’s podcast possible.

The Streets Where They Lived is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Lilian Bland’s episode was written by me Matthew Thompson and produced/edited by Owen McFadden. The beautiful song played at the end of the episode is from musician Fionnuala Fagan. You can discover more of her work here.

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More Information About Lillian Bland

  • She called her plane the MayFly because it may or may not fly

  • It was originally built as a glider before she added an engine

  • Lillian travelled to England to buy the AVRO engine and brought it back in her luggage

  • It was her study of birds that inspired her to build the plane

  • Her local minister encouraged parishioners to stone her for not riding side-saddle

  • (Like ‘a lady’)

  • Lillian’s dad bought her a car to try and stop her from flying

  • She ended up setting up NI’s first Ford Dealership

  • When she got married she moved to Canada and worked the land of her homestead

  • Later in life, she was able to retire after making some smart investments on the stock market

  • After living a long life she died at aged 92.

  • There is a play park in Glengormley with a full-scale replica of the MayFly to honour her memory

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How To Listen To This Lilian Bland Documentary

If you don’t have time to tune in right now, you can listen to today’s show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast or your favourite podcast app.

If it’s your first time listening to a podcast, click here to learn how to listen and enjoy audio shows.

Thanks for listening, wanna hear more local stories?

Thanks again for taking the time to listen to this special episode all about Lilian Bland.

To stay in the loop aboout more great local stories, subscribe to our email newsletter or see who else we’ve interviewed here.

See you next time.

Cheers!

— Matt

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Matthew Thompson