The Photo Album of Ulster exhibition, which opens to the public today at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin, features some fascinating photographs from private family collections.

The project has unearthed images from both traditions in the North. Included in the exhibition is a snapshot of republican prisoners in the H-Block and an Orange parade in Clones.

Photo albums can reveal details about how people lived and worked that official historical records often overlook. The project looks at the role photography plays in constructing and commemorating our histories, as viewed from the perspective of private individuals and families.

The Photo Album of Ulster is a Gallery of Photography archival research project inviting people from diverse communities across Ulster to digitally share their family albums and private photo collections.

Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Reconciliation Fund, this emerging, democratic archive explores themes of identity, changing social conditions, emigration and the effects of conflict, and preserves this important cultural material for future generations.

Conflict

The exhibition features the photo album collections of the McKay and McKeown families from Co Antrim, the Shackleton family from Co Cavan, the Rev Dr Eric Scott and Roulston families from Co Donegal, the archive of Peter McKee from Co Down and the Clerkin, Conlon, Knight and Madden families from Co Monaghan.

The archive is continuing to build and the project team are currently working with families in Co Derry and Co Antrim.