The National Library of Ireland has launched a new digital collection of some 34,000 photographs going back nearly 150 years.

National Library director Fiona Ross says the library now has "the world's largest collection of photographs relating to Ireland."

The images include some 22,000 pictures from the Irish Independent and the Lawrence and Poole collections which were added last year.

Since then, the library staff have added another 12,000 photographs from the Eason postcard collection, Stereo Pair, Clarke, Tempest and Keogh.

The collection, which covers the period 1860 to 1954, can all be seen at www.nli.ie/digital-photographs.aspx

"These photographs are a rich source of primary research material and, as a means of understanding and engaging with the past, they are invaluable because they provide us with evidence of places, events and people who shaped the nation, as well as providing insights into culture and social history, politics, art, landscape and natural history," Ross said.

Once on the site, you can either browse through the catalog (but be warned, you could spend hours in it!) or search for a keyword.

I searched for Drogheda and pulled up gorgeous pictures of the town's viaduct, Laurence's Gate and the main shopping areas.