News

Exhibition of Donegal people who worked in Scotland gathers momentum

The Culture Division of Donegal County Council in partnership with the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies is preparing a major exhibition on the historical context, working conditions and types of employment that Donegal men and women found in Scotland between 1940 and 1990.  This could include those who worked in seasonal work for parts of the year or those who settled in Scotland or those who returned to Donegal in later years.  The exhibition will be launched in the Donegal County Museum, Letterkenny, County Donegal in spring 2025 .   

“There has been a good response so far following the call-out for photographs and memories of Donegal men and women at work in Scotland between 1940 and 1990” explained Joseph Gallagher, County Donegal Heritage Officer.  “We want to hear from Donegal people who worked in Scotland especially those who have a story to tell, photographs to share or documents and small objects to lend that could form part of this exhibition.  The project will focus on a variety of industries and workplaces in Scotland from 1940 to 1990 including farms, buses, railways, building sites, engineering projects (such as tunnels, bridges, dams or hydro-electric schemes), shipbuilding, domestic service, hotels, shops, biscuit or chocolate factories, health service, religious life and teaching.” 

With funding secured from The Heritage Council and the Creative Ireland programme as part of the implementation of the new County Donegal Heritage Plan, staff from Donegal County Council and the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies hosted three very successful drop-in events in Glasgow and Edinburgh in early October to provide more information on the forthcoming exhibition, to scan photographs of Donegal people at work in Scotland and to record Donegal people’s memories of their working lives in Scotland.  “The drop-in events were held in the Scottish Football Museum, Hampden Park, Glasgow; Glasgow City Chambers; and the Irish Consulate in Edinburgh” continued Mr. Gallagher.  “We’re grateful to the Irish Consulate, Glasgow City Chambers and the Donegal Scottish Diaspora Group for facilitating the visit.  Former Celtic and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper and current Donegal Diaspora Ambassador Packie Bonner attended all the events.  Over 170 people attended the events and we scanned about 190 images of photographs and documents, and recorded 30 memories from Donegal people who worked in Scotland.”

Commenting on the Donegal Emigrant Working Lives in Scotland events in Glasgow and the preparation of the exhibition, Bailie Annette Christie of Glasgow City Council said “The turnout for this heritage event demonstrates the appetite for Glaswegians to engage with heritage wherever they hail from.  Supporting the Donegal project is particularly important as the contribution of ordinary people from the Irish community who built Glasgow has often been overlooked or considered too ordinary to be recorded.  It complements the award from our 850 festival fund for an Irish Roots project by the Govanhill Baths Community Trust.  The visit is an important milestone in the run-up to celebrating our 850^th birthday next year.  The visit follows on closely from discussions with Dublin and Belfast about links between our cities and the Donegal team visit further enhances these bonds.  I’m looking forward to the exhibition coming to Glasgow in the future.”

If you would like to contribute photographs, memories, documents or other material to the exhibition, please contact the County Donegal Heritage Office, Donegal County Council on (074) 916 3824 or by e-mail at donegalscotland@donegalcoco.ie.