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The Mc Evoy Family Archive

                                                                                   

This is a web-based digital archive dedicated to the Mc Evoys, Dolans and Drews of the Termonfeckin-Clogherhead area in County Louth, Ireland.

The mission of the archive is to gather and organize objects of cultural and familial heritage in a common virtual space, conserving them posterity and making them accessible for all those interested in their history.

Despite their quite ordinary origins, the Mc Evoy and Dolan-Drew collections contain over 1,000 interesting and rare items, with provenance as far away as Morocco, New York, Japan and New Zealand.

Dating from 1840 to 1969, these includes photographs, postcards, paper-clippings, recipes, memorabilia, image slides, posters, magazines, documents, objects and ephemera.

Late-Victorian Photography (1860-1900)

Collections inherited from the Dolan family of Clogherhead, and then later Clontarf contain wonderful examples early photography from Ireland and around the world. Stored in custom-made albums, these carte de visite and cabinet card photographs demonstrate the lively social networks of uppering middle-class Catholic families during the late-Victorian period.

Edwardian Amateur Photography (1900-1910)

Alongside examples of studio photography,  the archive showcases a wide array of early amateur photography, produced by both the Mc Evoy and Dolan families.

Early Twentieth Century Ephemera

Collected by Mary Ann, ''Polly'' Mc Evoy during the 1910s, 20s and 30s, this fantastic collection of cigarette cards, newspaper clippings, and greetings cards showcases the everyday visual culture and information available to people in Termonfeckin during the early 20th century.

Recipes and Other Writings

Several recipes are kept in the archive, in addition to a transcribed version of Mother Mc Evoy's (Mary Jane, née Taaffe) original handwritten cookbook.  Of equal interest are numerous recipes for not-so-edible goods such as bricks, fertilizer and cattle feed, written in Matt Mc Evoy's  notebooks from 1910 to 1926.

Magazine Posters (1880-1918)

The family archive contains a wonderful collection of posters and prints, distributed in Christmas magazines during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. Besides their aesthetic interest, many of these posters relate to British military campaigns during the First World War.

Postcards and Correspondence

Offering a window into years and decades past, this collection includes not only written letters and postcards between friends and family, but souvenir cards sold during the First World War and in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising.

Miscellaneous Documents

A variety of curious and remarkable documents are littered throughout the archive. From Edwardian school reports, Maltese lottery tickets to 1960s emigration papers,  these miscellany trace both mundane and momentous moments of family history.

How to Use the Archive:

                                                                                                                                                                       

Please see the following pages (located in the User Guide):
> Navigating the Archival Information System
> Using Reference Codes
>  Citing Items

All archival resources are free to use under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)

If you wish to contact the owner about using one of our items, please use the Contact Form provided.