Down life focus of photo project

As part of a new initiative entitled ‘Around the Island’, the Library is inviting Down people, and everyone with an interest in the county, to explore these images and others from home. ‘Around the Island’ encourages people across the island of Ireland to connect and reconnect with their counties and their history by accessing local photographs that are readily available through the Library’s online collections.

In 2007, the National Library initiated a major project to digitise its collections of glass plate negatives. Since then, more than 60,000 images of Ireland and Irish life have been made available online. With photographs drawn from a range of historic collections, the online catalogue offers viewers unique insights into life across Ireland from the middle of the 19th century all the way up to the late 20th century. The catalogue can be accessed via http://catalogue.nli.ie, and visitors can search the collections according to a number of criteria, including year and region. Visitors are encouraged to share any interesting findings or observations on social media, using the hashtag #NLIonline, or by emailing info@nli.ie