Lyons launches first international exhibition in PRONI: Voices Across the Atlantic
Date published:
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has officially opened the Voices Across the Atlantic exhibition at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
The exhibition is a major event in the US-NI 250 commemorations and will be displaying, for the first time on the island of Ireland, significant documents on loan from the US Library of Congress, US National Archives and Records Administration and The UK National Archives.
The Minister said:
“This exciting exhibition is the culmination of a year-long programme of activities marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. When I first visited Washington DC as Minister in October 2024, I had the pleasure of seeing these documents in the Library of Congress and the National Archives of the United States and for them now to be sitting in Belfast is a very special moment.
“At its heart, this exhibition is a simple but powerful story of people from Ulster who helped shape the United States of America. It explores the connections they forged across the Atlantic that continue to strongly resonate today.
“What I particularly like about this exhibition is that it reminds us that history is never only about well-known events. It is about people. People with aspirations and convictions. People who took risks, often with consequences far beyond anything they could have imagined. Their legacy can still be seen today and I encourage everyone to come to PRONI and see this free exhibition for themselves.”
Voices Across the Atlantic is open until 31 March 2027. Find out more at: https://www.proni.gov.uk/events/voices-across-atlantic-ulster-legacy-america
Notes to editors:
- Photo caption: Communities Minister Gordon Lyons pictured with Gillian Doherty, PRONI archivist and Sajay Menon, Vice Consul at the launch of PRONI's first international exhibition - Voices Across the Atlantic.
- The US documents have never before been displayed on the island of Ireland.
- The documents on loan are as follows:
- Declaration of Independence - Printed by Hugh Gaine, New York, 4 July 1776 – The National Archives UK
- Charles Thomsons final report to Congress in 1782 for the Great Seal of the US - The National Archives and Records Administration (US)
- Charles Thomson’s address, delivered on behalf of Congress to George Washington at Mount Vernon on 14 April 1789, formally notifying him of his election as the first President of the United States – Library of Congress
- President Andrew Jackson’s preparatory notes for his Second Annual Message to Congress, delivered on 6 December 1830, outlining the progress of his Indian removal policy – Library of Congress
- James Prestly, Clerk of General Assembly of United Presbyterian Church writing to Abraham Lincoln setting out the Scots-Irish congregation’s support of the Union and opposition to slavery. Dated 5 June 1861 – Library of Congress
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