Donegal County Council is seeking participants for a new exhibition exploring the history of Donegal people who travelled to Scotland to work between 1940 and 1990.
The ‘Working Over By’ exhibition is being developed by the council’s Culture Division, in partnership with the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies.
People are being asked to record their stories on a smartphone, and send them in to the council.
Heritage Officer Joe Gallagher says the stories can be their own, or those of parents, grandparents or relatives.
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Release in full –
Share Your Stories of Working Life in Scotland
Did you, or someone in your family, spend time working in Scotland between 1940 and 1990? If so,
Donegal County Council wants to hear from you. A new exhibition entitled Working Over By is being
developed by the Culture Division of Donegal County Council in partnership with the Mellon Centre
for Migration Studies. The idea is simple but powerful: to gather and share personal stories of
Donegal men and women who made a life, temporarily or permanently, working across the water in
Scotland.
“If you have a story to tell, you’re invited 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 and in Glasgow in summer 2025. 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 people between
Donegal International Airport and Glasgow Airport.
If you’d like to take part, here’s how to enter:
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
Friday, May 30.
Full details are available on the County Donegal Heritage Office, Donegal County Council website at:
www.donegalculture.ie/en/services/heritage/working-over-by-smartphone-competition/
The winner will be announced at the Working Over By exhibition in the Donegal County Museum,
High Road, Letterkenny in June.
Photo caption:
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)
