12 evocative vintage snapshots from Irish family photo albums

FAMILY PHOTO ALBUMS have a universal appeal.

The Photo Album of Ireland, supported by The Gallery of Photography, Monaghan County Council and Dublin City Council, is an online based project providing an outlet for people to share their family pictures and amateur photography.

The album hopes to capture Ireland’s social evolution, from 1839 right up to the 1990s.

The aim of the project, as stated on the website, is to “give an insight into our private and public histories.” Contributions from across the country showcase both rural and suburban settings as backdrops to weddings, births, holidays and historical events in Ireland.

1. A candid shot of the Clancy family enjoying Christmas at home in 1970

Clancey_03_web-1200x831 The Photo Album of Ireland, Liam Clancy The Photo Album of Ireland, Liam Clancy

2. Organised by height, siblings of the Clune family gather for a portrait outside their Galway home

Grainne-Mary-White-Clune009_web-600x405 The Photo Album of Ireland, Clune Family The Photo Album of Ireland, Clune Family

3. There are Waking Ned flashbacks in this image courtesy of amateur photographer Declan Gilroy

gilroy_slides078-copy-600x417 The Photo Album of Ireland, Declan Gilroy The Photo Album of Ireland, Declan Gilroy

4. A teenage David Hall, from Donegal, proudly showing off his catch of the day

Law037a-600x439 The Photo Album of Ireland, Robin Law The Photo Album of Ireland, Robin Law

5. The vibrant flowers of Maureen Dunne’s garden in Cork beautifully frame this sweet duo

dunne_web_34-1200x800 The Photo Album of Ireland, Maureen Dunne The Photo Album of Ireland, Maureen Dunne

6. Eugene Clerkin captures a lone farmer tending to his crops in Monaghan

Clerkin_Scan048-1200x839 The Photo Album of Ireland, Eugene Clerkin The Photo Album of Ireland, Eugene Clerkin

7. Four generations of Dublin’s Meerwald Baker family shown together, in an overgrown garden, enjoying the sunshine

Baker_Deely_web_10-1200x796 The Photo Album of Ireland, Baker Deely The Photo Album of Ireland, Baker Deely

8. A young Seán Conlon in the barber’s seat getting a classic short back and sides

web_Conlon_65 The Photo Album of Ireland, Conlon Family The Photo Album of Ireland, Conlon Family

9. Taken in Lafayette Studio, Ireland’s longest established photography business, this portrait taken in 1939 is a smart representation of the Buckeridge family

Buckeridge Family photograph 1939 The Photo Album of Ireland, Pat Fleming The Photo Album of Ireland, Pat Fleming

10. Joyous scenes from Doreen Stewart’s wedding at Drum Presbyterian, Co Monaghan, complete with pastel-hued bridesmaids and a kilted page boy

Angela Graham/Johnston Family The Photo Album of Ireland, Angela Graham The Photo Album of Ireland, Angela Graham

11. Members of the Masterson family overseeing a great mound of potatoes in their garden, circa 1935

masterson_web_19-1200x807 The Photo Album of Ireland, Terry Webster The Photo Album of Ireland, Terry Webster

12. Two teenage boys surveying the aftermath of the demolition of houses in Belfast, almost half a century ago

McKee_web_pol_rubblboys-1200x772 The Photo Album of Ireland, Peter McKee The Photo Album of Ireland, Peter McKee