c. 1890
"Mother and son."
Image: National library of ireland
The last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th were a period of epochal change and disruption in Ireland.
The death and diaspora of the Great Hunger was followed by the agrarian unrest and evictions of the Land War and an intensifying campaign for Irish Home Rule.
Much of this history was captured on glass plates, as photographic technology advanced and propagated around the country.
These images from the National Library of Ireland capture a broad portrait of the Irish people in the years leading up to its secession from the United Kingdom, from the monied landlords and urban professionals to the farmers and fisherfolk who harvested the isle’s bounty.
c. 1870
Four boys at the "Rocking Stone" at Islandmagee, County Antrim.
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1910
Moll's Gap, Kerry.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1914
Lifeboat men.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1908
Girls of the Ursuline Convent in Waterford pose in their gymnasium.
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1901
The McCoy family of Waterford.
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1900
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1885
The Fannings of Waterford.
Image: national library of ireland
1899
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1885
A family cuts turf near Ballymena.
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1885
Image: National Library of Ireland
1917
A young member of the Irish Guards at Waterford Barracks with the regiment's mascot, an Irish Wolfhound.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1906
Workers at a mine in Knockmahon, County Waterford.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1902
Cricket players.
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1900
Medical student John Joseph Clarke.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1916
J. Morgan's butcher shop on Broad Street, Waterford.
IMage: National Library of Ireland
1914
Crew members of the Norwegian vessel The Mexican, which ran aground on the Keragh Islands. The Fethard Lifeboat Helen Blake attempted to rescue them during a storm, but was destroyed with the loss of 9 of the 14 lifeboat men.
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1900
Men on horseback in front of Kate Kearney's Cottage in Kerry.
image: national library of ireland
c. 1908
A weigh station in Clifden, County Galway.
Image: national library of ireland
1924
Three generations of a family pose beside their home at Alexander Street, Waterford.
Image: National library of ireland
1914
People in costume at the Theatre Royal in Waterford.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1908
Image: National library of ireland
c. 1900
Women sell tourist trinkets and books on Fionn Mac Cumhaill's Wishing Chair at the Giant's Causeway, County Antrim.
Image: National library of ireland
c. 1900
The Glencar Tea House in County Leitrim.
Image: national library of ireland
c. 1887
A Royal Welsh Fusilier with the Regimental Goat, and his strap-on crest.
Image: National library of ireland
1906
Inside the Bonmahon Mines.
IMage: national library of ireland
c. 1897
The Waterford Bicycle Club.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1913
Sir Hercules Robert Langrishe, 5th Baronet Langrishe and his dog.
Image: National library of ireland
c. 1910
A wool operation in Leenane, County Galway.
Image: national library of ireland
c. 1910
Fisher folk of Ardglass, County Down.
Image: National Library of ireland
c. 1890
Glencar Tea House, County Leitrim.
IMage: National Library of Ireland
1913
Sailors on the Sarah McDonald at Waterford.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1902
Marconi Wireless Telegraph Station, Malin Head, County Donegal.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1904
Field hockey players.
Image: National Library of Ireland
1915
The Riley family, survivors of the sinking of the Lusitania, in Cobh, County Cork.
Image: National Library of Ireland
c. 1890
The Cloghvorra Stone, near Kenmare.
Image: National Library of Ireland
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