This thesis considers what life was like for children growing up in the often ‘forgotten’ county of Donegal during a century of intense demographic change from c. 1850 to 1950. Donegal during this period showcased high fertility but low marriage rates, high death rates in some categories, high migration and decreasing population size, all of which was typical of Ireland’s unusual demographic profile. This thesis considers the way, if any, that this century of change impacted or influenced the lives of children growing up in rural Ireland, through the Donegal case study. This study is both a social history and a local history which focuses on the experiences of children in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Ireland, which have, until recently, been largely overlooked by historians. Donegal is situated on the north-western periphery of Ireland, and these children essentially lived on the ‘outer edge’ of Irish life. This thesis adopts a lifecycle approach, considering aspects of birth, life and death within childhood. The term ‘child’ has been understood historically, culturally and theoretically in different ways in the modern age, but in this thesis childhood includes antenatal experience up to the age of sixteen. As part of the lifecycle approach, this thesis utilises an intersectional analysis which considers gender, religion and poverty, among other factors. The thesis begins with a discussion of motherhood, pregnancy and birth, which are essential in any study of childhood, alongside attitudes towards pregnancy and infancy. The next three chapters consider the daily lives of children growing up in rural Ireland, by highlighting their experiences of education, labour and leisure. Finally, childhood ill-health and death are analysed, bringing the childhood lifecycle to an end. This thesis ultimately provides a rich social history of rural Irish childhoods by highlighting both the idiosyncratic nature of childhood in County Donegal, a predominantly rural county on the north-western seaboard of Ireland, and the experience of growing up in rural Ireland more generally.