Local History

Central Library in Letterkenny hosts the Donegal Studies Collection, which is comprised of books relating to County Donegal, books written by Donegal authors and/or published in the county. This collection holds a huge range of subjects ranging from religion to art, to literature and histories of the various areas of the county. Searching local history books will allow you a glimpse of life in Donegal in the past and give you a flavour of how your ancestors lived. You can even check historic maps that will give you an even greater sense of place.

Microfilm
Local newspapers are an excellent source for the genealogist as they often list birth, death, and marriage details.  Many historical newspapers have been microfilmed, but some are still available in hard copy. 
Free access to the Irish Newspaper Archive Archives is available in all Donegal libraries. 
Please contact Central Library at 074 91 24950, or central@donegalllibrary.ie to book the microfilm or request access to historic newspapers. 

Rare Book Collection
Rare Books Collection including the First Ordnance Survey Maps for Donegal (Grand Jury Maps)
Central Library holds a collection of rare and antiquarian books, maps, pamphlets, and prints relating to the history and heritage of Donegal. This is a non-circulating collection; however members of the public may request items. Photocopying of items from the Rare Books Collection is strictly prohibited as copying can cause severe damage to fragile items. Flash photography is also harmful, but non-flash photography may be allowed at the discretion of library staff. 

Items from the Rare Book Collection, including the First Ordnance Survey Maps for Donegal (Grand Jury Maps) have been digitised and are available to view below.

Online Research

We also have online resources which can be accessed in public PC's at your local branch

	JSTOR provides access to academic journal articles, books and primary sources. The only subject fully available on our public PCs is Irish Studies, covering approximately 49 journals and 62 books.
	A wide range of records from the Donegal County Archives Collection has been digitised and made available on Find My Past. While this is typically a subscription based service, you can access it for free from PC's at any of our library branches.
	The Irish Times Digital Archive is available through the Ask About Ireland Portal only in branches.
	Access the Irish Newspaper Archive from any of our branches for free. This archive consists of over 6 million pages of newspaper content from titles North and South of the Irish border and through the newspaper obituaries Irish genealogists can search, retrieve and view births, deaths and marriage records from over 279 year's worth of Irish publications.