Wednesday 8 June 2022

Did your Donegal ancestor drive a motor vehicle in the early 1900s?

Over the last decade or so, many wonderful records previously hidden away have been given a new lease of life online, and here's another one: the Donegal County Council Motor Vehicles (Cars and Cycles) Register, 1903–1923.

This is the Council's oldest such register (1903 was the year the Motor Car Act was introduced). 

Following recent digitisation, it can be downloaded free of charge and studied by any researcher. You can view some of the details requested on the form by clicking the image, right.

If you have ancestors from County Donegal who may have been driving around in a car or motorcycle in the early years of the last century, download the entire pdf file, here (51Mb).

Be aware that some of the cycle registration entries are sandwiched between car registration entries.

You should also note that subsequent sale/transfer of the vehicle was supposed to be advised to the council, but as you'll see from the register, it usually wasn't.

In the few updates of this type in the register, there may be information about individuals who don't appear elsewhere in the register.