Featured photo: Mary McGinley, Derryreel, Falcarragh pictured with her co-workers on Glasgow Corporation trams in the 1950s. Many Donegal people worked on the buses, trams and trolleybuses operated by Glasgow Corporation Transport. (Image courtesy of Mary McKeown)
If you, or someone in your family, spent time working in Scotland between 1940 and 1990, there’s still time to share your story for a new exhibition entitled Working Over By that is being developed by the Culture Division of Donegal County Council in partnership with the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies.
The aim of the exhibition is to gather and share personal stories of Donegal men and women who made a life, temporarily or permanently, working across the water in Scotland. The deadline for the submission of your memories of work in Scotland is Monday, June 16.
“We’re encouraging people who worked in Scotland to record a short video – no longer than five minutes – using your smartphone,” explained Joseph Gallagher, County Donegal Heritage Officer. “It might be your own memory or that of a parent, grandparent or relative. The project team is especially interested in what the work was like, what the working conditions were, and how it felt to be part of that community of Donegal people who worked in Scotland. Many people from Donegal found employment in Scotland between 1940 and 1990 including on farms, buses, roads, building sites, tunnels, bridges, dams, hydro-electric schemes, shipbuilding, domestic service, hotels, shops, biscuit or chocolate factories, health service, religious life and teaching. Some went for seasonal work and came home regularly; others stayed and built new lives there, often maintaining strong ties with home. Through the Working Over By exhibition, there’s an opportunity to record and share those memories for future generations.”
Some of the submitted videos will be edited into a film that will be shown as part of the exhibition at the Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny that opens in July. It’s a chance to contribute to a lasting record of the working lives that shaped so many families and communities on both sides of the Irish Sea. As a small thank you, there’s also a prize on offer: one lucky participant will be chosen at random from the selected entries to win a return flight for two between Donegal International Airport and Glasgow Airport.
- Record your video in portrait format using a smartphone that is held steady in a quiet space.
- Keep the video clip to under five minutes.
- Make sure you have the consent of the person being interviewed.
- Send the video via WhatsApp to +353 87 360 3463.
- E-mail the signed ‘Permission to Use’ form to donegalscotland@donegalcoco.ie no later than Monday, June 16.
