Date: 18 Jul 2025
Experience the Lives of Donegal People ‘Working Over By’
The ‘Working Over By: Donegal Emigrant Working Lives in Scotland’ exhibition opened last Friday evening in the Donegal County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny to a packed audience of over 120 people. The exhibition highlights the occupations, working conditions and work experiences that Donegal men and women found in Scotland between 1940 and 1990. The aim of the exhibition is to recognise and celebrate the work that Donegal men and women did and their contributions to Scottish society and to life back home in Donegal. It profiles Donegal men and women who worked on a seasonal basis as well as those who settled in Scotland.
The exhibition and the free accompanying booklet was launched by Packie Bonner, former Celtic and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper and Donegal Diaspora Ambassador, in the presence of the new Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr. Paul Canning. Packie Bonner spoke passionately about his own and his family’s experiences of working in Scotland and the importance of maintaining links with his native Donegal.
“Over the past two years, the Culture Division of Donegal County Council has been commissioning research and gathering information on the work undertaken by Donegal men and women in Scotland between 1940 and 1990” explained Joseph Gallagher, County Donegal Heritage Officer. “The exhibition focuses on the visual using images and objects submitted by members of the public and from national repositories to convey a variety of occupations and the nature of the work involved. To complement the exhibition, there is a free 104-page publication that provides more insights into the work experiences of Donegal men and women in Scotland. The exhibition booklet was researched and written by Dr. Adrian Grant and Dr. Samuel Beckton from the History Research Unit of Ulster University. The publication includes short chapters on migration to Scotland, tattie hokers, herring gutters, tunnel workers, mine workers, transport workers, factory workers, domestic workers, nurses, religious life, musicians, professional soccer players, construction workers, other workers, housing, everyday life and the legacy of Donegal emigrants in Scotland. There’s also a blank chapter where people can record their own family’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 is part of the implementation of the County Donegal Heritage Plan funded by The Heritage Council & Donegal County Council.
Visitors to the exhibition can hear first-hand accounts from Donegal people at home and abroad who worked in Scotland. The accounts are taken from interviews recorded for the project and from local collections. The audio package was compiled and edited by Áine Ní Bhreisleáin. A selection of these recordings can be heard on the listening post in the museum. At the exhibition, people can take photographs of themselves in front of backdrops such as Broomielaw Quay in Glasgow and in the Clyde Tunnel. Over the course of the exhibition, people are encouraged to continue to contribute images, stories and objects to the project. There is a temporary exhibition wall and a digital display unit that will present further contributions made by people. The Donegal-Scotland Legacy Wall encourages people to contribute suggestions for ways in which the links between Donegal and Scotland are still evident to this day. After the exhibition is over, all of this material will form part of the project archive that will be housed in the Donegal County Archives.
In addition to the exhibition and publication, there will be a series of other events taking place over the summer and autumn including a series of talks on different aspects of the work experiences of Donegal men and women in Scotland, a living history programme that will provide historical re-enactments based on the work experiences of Donegal people in Scotland, the launch of a free booklet this autumn on the role that Donegal men and women played in Glasgow Corporation Transport, and a travelling version of the exhibition that will open in Glasgow in September and will be available to travel to other parts of 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 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
