A major exhibition celebrating the work of Donegal men and women in Scotland between 1940 and 1990 will be launched in Donegal County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 11.
The ‘Working Over By’: Donegal Emigrant Working Lives in Scotland exhibition and accompanying booklet highlights the occupations, working conditions and work experiences of Donegal people in Scotland.
Former Celtic and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper and Donegal Diaspora Ambassador Packie Bonner will launch the exhibition in the presence of the new Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr. Paul Canning.
If you would like to attend the launch, please contact Donegal County Museum on (074) 912 4613 or by e-mail at museum@donegalcoco.ie. Admission is free and the exhibition will run in Donegal County Museum until January 2026.
“There are few families in County Donegal that have not been affected by emigration or participated in seasonal migration” said Joseph Gallagher, County Donegal Heritage Officer.
Mary Herron (nee McDaid) from Carndonagh (on left) with her Scottish friend and co-worker Madge Byrnes stacking filled jam jars onto a pallet at the Robertson’s Jam factory in Paisley. The jam jars were washed in cold water to cool them for handling and they would lift four jars at a time.
(Image courtesy of Mary Herron)
“In the twentieth century, Scotland was a familiar destination for people leaving County Donegal in search of work. In recent years, the stories of some of their experiences and successes have been documented but, for a long time, they have been overlooked or considered too ordinary to be recorded.
“Emigration from Donegal to Scotland was particularly high during the 1950s and 1960s. With the passage of time, the opportunities to record first-hand accounts of the experiences of Donegal people working in Scotland are disappearing. This exhibition captures some of the images and accounts associated with this important chapter in our county’s story.”
The exhibition represents a collaboration between the Heritage Office, Museum, Archives and Regional Cultural Centre of Donegal County Council’s Culture Division and the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies.
The exhibition booklet was researched and written by Dr. Adrian Grant and Dr. Samuel Beckton from the History Research Unit of Ulster University.
The exhibition contains photographs of Donegal people at work in 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, sport, health service and the religious life.
Donegal Tunnel Tigers taking a break from their work on a hydro-electric scheme in Scotland in the mid-twentieth century. Pictured (from left to right) are: Unknown; Unknown; Hughie Friel, Termon; Jimmy McDaid, Glenswilly; Anthony Ferry, Crickamore, Dungloe & Andy Bonar, Meenmore, Dungloe.
(Image courtesy of SSE Renewables)
It profiles Donegal men and women who worked on a seasonal basis as well as those who settled in Scotland. People attending the exhibition will also be able to listen to extracts of interviews with Donegal people who worked in Scotland compiled by broadcaster Áine Ní Bhreisleáin.
Through personal accounts, photographs and objects from national repositories and those submitted by members of the public, the stories of these people, their occupations and their working conditions are highlighted.
The exhibition is accompanied by a free 100-page, A5-size booklet that provides a synopsis of several occupations and gives a flavour of the Donegal immigrant experience in Scotland between 1940 and 1990. Over the course of the exhibition, Donegal people at home and abroad are encouraged to record their own family’s story.
There will be an interactive element to the exhibition where people can submit images of Donegal people at work in Scotland that may be displayed as part of the exhibition and can contribute suggestions for ways in which the legacy of connections between Donegal and Scotland are still evident to this day. During the exhibition run, there will be a programme of events including guest presentations, a panel discussion and a living history programme.
Events will also include the launch of another free booklet on the role that Donegal men and women played in Glasgow Corporation Transport by Glasgow-based historian, journalist and author Hugh Dougherty. A travelling version of the ‘Working Over By’ exhibition will be hosted in Glasgow from September 2025 and will be available to travel to other locations in Scotland in 2026.
The ‘Working Over By: Donegal Emigrant Working Lives in Scotland’ exhibition will run in the Donegal County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny, F92 K123, County Donegal from July 2025 until January 2026. Admission is free and the County Museum is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed for lunch 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.) and is open on Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you would like to contribute to the exhibition or would like to find out more, please contact the County Donegal Heritage Office on (074) 916 3824 or by e-mail at donegalscotland@donegalcoco.ie
