The VRTI Goes to Donegal
On 22 November, Donegal County Council and Donegal Library Services hosted the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland in Central Library, Letterkenny for a special event: “Finding Donegal in the Virtual Record Treasury.”
The room was packed and the audience heard presentations from Ciarán Wallace, Deputy Director of the VRTI, Brian Gurrin, VRTI Research Fellow and Census Specialist, Niamh Brennan, Donegal County Archivist, and Una Mathewson, Donegal Local Studies Librarian.
Some relevant Donegal County Archives Resources:
| Time Period | Record of Donegal Local Government |
| 1899–present (partial digitisation) | Donegal County Council |
| 1899–1925 (digitisation near completion) | Rural District Councils |
| 1754–1899 (digitised) | Grand Jury Presentments & Minutes |
| 1890–2014 (partial digitisation) | Town Commissioners/Urban District Councils: Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Buncrana & Letterkenny |
| 1840–1923 (digitised, can be viewed at www.findmypast.ie) | Poor Law Unions (Workhouses) Ballyshannon, Donegal, Dunanaghy, Glenties, Letterkenny, Milford, Inishowen, Stranorlar |
| 19th / Early 20th century (some collections digitised) | Other Private/Public Collections Including Railways, National Schools, Landed Estate Papers, Political Papers, Business & Local History Collections |
The collections which are digitised and freely available can be accessed at: https://www.donegalcoco.ie/culture/archives/ under Digitised Archives. (Note: Poor Law unions: records can be viewed on www.findmypast.ie)
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Donegal County Archives Research is by prior appointment only Contact: Niamh Brennan, Donegal County Archives, Donegal County Council, Three Rivers Centre, Lifford, Co. Donegal Email: archivist@donegalcoco.ie Phone: (074) 91 53900 |
Some relevant Donegal County Library Resources:
| Time Period | Title |
| 1630 (hardcopy, digitisation planned) | Muster Rolls, Co. Donegal |
| 1664-66 (hardcopy, digitisation planned) | Hearth Money Rolls |
| 1768 (hardcopy, digitisation planned) | Register of Deeds in County Donegal |
| 1796 (hardcopy, digitisation planned) | Spinning-wheel Premium Entitlement List (Flax List), County Donegal |
| 1833-35 (Digitised) | First Ordnance Survey Maps of County Donegal |
| 1772 – present (microfilm and Irish Newspaper Archives) | Local newspaper archives |
| 17th – 19th Century (hardcopy) | Rare Books Collection |
| 19th century- present (partial digitisation) | Local History Collections |
The collections which are digitised and freely available can be accessed at: https://www.donegallibrary.ie/localfamilyhistory
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Donegal Studies Department, Central Library, Letterkenny opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm Email: umathewson@donegalcoco.ie Phone:(074) 91 24950 |
Here are some images from the Roadshow, where we explored the history of Donegal and its people through a combination of our exciting online resource and the wonderful resources available in the Donegal County Archives and at Central Library, Letterkenny.
VRTI Deputy Director Dr Ciarán Wallace presenting an overview of the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland and its parent project, Beyond 2022.
VRTI Census Specialist Dr Brian Gurrin presenting on Donegal records in the Virtual Record Treasury.
Donegal County Archivist Dr Niamh Brennan presenting on resources in the Donegal County Archives.
Donegal Local Studies Librarian Una Mathewson presenting on local studies resources in the Donegal County Library.
Date
Wednesday, 22 November 2023, 12:00 PM
Author
Jean-Philippe SanGiovanni
