Northern Ireland's PRONI archive is 100 years old today - Happy Birthday!

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni) - 'PRONI' to those of us who regularly use it - is one hundred years old today. In 1923, one year after the devastating destruction at the original Public Record Office of Ireland in Dublin in 1922, an act of parliament facilitated the creation of a new public record office for the new state of Northern Ireland (established just two years earlier in 1921 following the Partition of Ireland). PRONI's mission was to not only act as the state repository for Northern Ireland's tiers of government, but to also seek out surrogate material from private repositories that might replace much of the losses in Dublin. Today it has over 3 million items in its repository in Belfast, a staggering amount of material for a country that is so wee! 

 

It was a point alluded to by many at today's centenary event in Belfast, which I have just finished watching online, that PRONI is based in a building completely fit for purpose, with the sheer friendliness and helpfulness of its staff making it an absolute pleasure to visit. In my 20 years of family history research, it remains unparalleled anywhere else in the UK or Ireland in providing the research experience that it does (although a tip of the hat here to many local archives and archivists here in Scotland and in Ireland most definitely drinking from the same cup!). Comedian Tim McGarry's comment at today's event (not repeated here to protect the innocent!) comparing PRONI to TNA was made in jest, but was all the funnier for it, but I pray that Tim never has to experience the level of service we do in Scotland from the national repository here, the National Records of Scotland, which has so much yet to learn.

There are many ways to do things in archives, and then there is THE way to do it. PRONI gets out to its user base across Northern Ireland, it is opening up its archives further through online access (it was great to see Ancestry's representative in Belfast, announcing the now name searchable Valuation Rolls on its site, committing to more Northern Ireland releases as part of the archive's centenary over the next few months), and it is serving the public in documenting and chronicling the times we continue to live in (did any other national archive initiate a Covid lockdown census, for future generations to learn by?!). PRONI has the most difficult political environment to work within, with Northern Ireland's politicians continuing to work part-time after being elected to a full-time roll, but it does so by just getting on with it - even the pandemic was a period in which PRONI served its user base with distinction, constantly pushing to open up as much as was possible, and putting other organisations to shame in how it succeeded. 

Over the years I have made many discoveries within my own family history at PRONI, as well as for clients, that have made me leap for joy. The privilege of being able to just handle such documents, and the archive's microfilm and computerised resources is something I have never taken for granted. PRONI doesn't always get it right, nobody ever does, but PRONI always makes damned sure that it tries to get it right, and that is so appreciated.

PRONI, you are one of Northern Ireland's greatest success stories, and here's to another one hundred years and more of archival excellence. Continue to serve your user base in the way that you do, and in return, it will always have your back.

Happy 100th birthday PRONI! 

(And if you have never been to PRONI, do yourself a favour and visit some day!) 

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.