National Library of Ireland photographic exhibition to feature images from 1800s and 1900s

The National Library of Ireland (NLI) will open a photographic exhibition next week featuring images from the 1800s and 1900s.

Photographs of a rural fiddler from 1860, a go-kart race in the 1950s Glenties and Rolls-Royce armoured cars used during the Civil War in 1922 are among those featured in People and Places, which offers a glimpse into some of the 5 million photographs held by the library.

Other images due to go on display include show women in the 1860s selling refreshments at tourist locations in Killarney, a passing steam train in Clones, Co Monaghan, in 1959, and children outside Dublin’s Ballymun flats in 1969.

The photographs give a glimpse into Irish life and show the evolution of photography throughout the 1800s and 1900s in Ireland. Those on display will include early forms such as salt paper print and 3D stereo-pair as well as more contemporary film photography.