Born in Belfast in 1930, Hugh Irvine came to Kilkeel in 1953 when he was appointed as a history teacher in the newly opened Kilkeel High School. He developed a keen interest in the history, archaeology, architecture, genealogy and folklore of the area around Kilkeel and the Mourne Mountains. Irvine recorded the results of his research on a series of index cards and in notebooks and built up a large photographic collection focusing on the rural and farming life of the Mournes.
The collection contains c.700 items which relate to the social history of the Kilkeel region. These include research notes, copies of primary source material from various archives and some original items in the collection such as a 1854 Poor Law Rate book for Mullartown (Annalong). There are also postcards, receipts from local businesses and newspaper cuttings.
There are almost 450 photographs taken by Hugh Irvine reflecting his local historical interests. Dating from the 1960s to the 1990s they include pictures of streets in Kilkeel and features in the surrounding countryside such as houses, mills, industrial workings and old agricultural implements.
As part of the collection there are around 1,600 cards recording information on a vast array of topics linked to Kilkeel and its hinterland. The local history cards include information on occupations (for example, blacksmiths, publicans, etc.), businesses, place names, roads, nicknames and many other aspects of social history. The genealogy cards contain information on many families in the Kilkeel area.
