The distillery at Kilbeggan, the Belvedere Estate, Biddy Gray’s Crookedwood in Mullingar; these are just some of the photographs of Westmeath digitised and freely available online from the National Library of Ireland (NLI).
As part of a new initiative entitled ‘Around the Island’, the Library is inviting Westmeath 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 rich and varied online collections.
Locally relevant photos included in this huge national collection include a look at the market and of the distillery in Kilbeggan, a lady and her donkey cart on Earl St in Mullingar sometime between 1880 and 1900, The Belvedere Estate photographed by Robert French between 1865 and 1914, and more.
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 the island of Ireland from the middle of the 19th century all the way up to the late 20th century. The catalogue can be accessed via Catalogue.nli.ie, and visitors can search the collections according to a number of criteria, including year and region.
Visitors to the catalogue are encouraged to share any interesting findings or observations on social media, using the hashtag #NLIonline, or by sending an email to info@nli.ie.
The NLI’s online catalogue can be accessed via this link. For more information, visit nli.ie.
