Life in County Donegal Between the 18th & 20th Centuries
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The following pages contain background information which can help in understanding life in Donegal during the 18th and 19th centuries
The documents cover many subjects and were all written before 1920
If you have anything which you would like to add to this page, please Contact Me
Articles & Reports
- The Penal Code, 1695 to c 1793 - list of 28 penal codes, restricting the Catholics
- Hedge Schools of Inishowen
- Donegal in the Newspapers of the 1800s & Early 1900s
Daily Life
- Father Ryan's Notes, RC Parish of Carn, 1855-1859 - Mirrored with permission from Margaret Jenkins website, this is an interesting transcription of notes recorded by Father Ryan, regarding the weather, growing conditions and other small details
- Writings of Seaumus MacManus - Both published in the Daily Times, Davenport, Scott, Iowa in 1900, these include the subjects of Life in The County Donegal, Hardy Peasantry, The Fair Maidens of Donegal, Sprigging Camps
Family Letters
- Letters from Home. Transcriptions of two letters, dated 1807 & 1811, from a father in Donegal to his children in America
- Many Letters Home. A group of letters dating from 1855 to 1874. Interesting conversation and a soap opera in the making!
- A Letter from Home. A transcription of a letter dated 1874, from a father in Donegal to his daughter in America
- A Letter from Home. A transcription of a letter dated 1878, from a grandfather in Donegal to his granddaughter in Australia
Famine & Distress
- Memorial of Paddy McKye, Gweedore, 1837, attesting to the distress of the people
- Annals of the Famine in Ireland in 1847, 1848, and 1849 - By Mrs A. Nicholson, 1851
Special Occasions
- Christmas in Copany. An account of a Christmas in in small Donegal townland in the early 1900s
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