Uncover the history of Banbridge

Photographs of Bridge Street, Church Square, and Market Day in Dromore are just a few of the many items collated for the National Library of Ireland (NLI) online archive.

As part of its new initiative entitled Timpeall na Tíre, the National Library of Ireland is inviting local people, and everyone with an interest in the area, to delve into the story of Banbridge and explore items from home as told through the Library’s rich and varied collections of digitised material, freely available to view through its online catalogue.

Organised by province, Timpeall na Tíre will focus on an individual county each week and highlight items relating to that county that are available to view online via the Library’s online catalogue. The Library is currently highlighting the kinds of items from Ulster that visitors to the online catalogue can expect to enjoy.

Commenting on the initiative, Director of the NLI, Dr Sandra Collins, said: “At the National Library of Ireland, we have more than 125,000 items digitalised in our online catalogue. Every county is represented, and the items are all freely available to explore and enjoy online.

“Whether one’s interest is travel, sport, music, politics or social history, or simply a love of nostalgia and bygone times, the Library’s collections have something for everyone. I hope that Timpeall na Tíre will inspire the people of Antrim to engage with the Library’s collections and perhaps see their locality in a new light or learn something new about its history. I encourage everyone to take the time to explore the online catalogue and see what gems they find.”

Timpeall na Tíre builds on the success of Around the Island, the Library’s 2020 series that shared collections of digitised photographs from each county across the island.

The NLI’s online catalogue can be accessed at http://catalogue.nli.ie/