Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)

PRONI, the only archive in Northern Ireland with Archive Service Accreditation has the vision of “Protecting and Providing Archives for All”.

What PRONI does

PRONI aims to identify and preserve records of historical, social and cultural importance and make them available for the information, education and enjoyment of the public.

PRONI is the official place of deposit for public records in Northern Ireland. In addition, it collects a wide range of archives from private sources. PRONI also advises on and promotes best practice in archive and records management to ensure that today’s records will be available for future generations.

Public records

PRONI holds public records mainly dating from around the formation of Northern Ireland (1921) to the present day. A small number date back to the 19th and late 18th centuries.  ‘Public record’ generally refers to any document created by ‘official’ sources such as:

• government departments
• non-departmental public organisations
• (courts of law, local authorities, non-departmental public bodies/quangos)

Privately deposited archives

These include business records and church registers and can range from a single emigrant letter to a vast landed estate archive containing thousands of items and spanning a 300 year period.

Talks and events

PRONI regularly hosts and takes parts in talks and events which are open to the public on a wide range of topics. Details on upcoming events and exhibitions are listed on the events page:

• Talks and events (nidirect)

• PRONI Events Brochure

What’s available online

• Electronic catalogue (nidirect)
• Ulster Covenant (nidirect)
• Street Directories (nidirect)
• Freeholders Lists (nidirect)
• Londonderry Corporation Records (nidirect)
• Uploaded Images (Flickr.com)

Visiting PRONI

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is located in Titanic Quarter Belfast, within easy reach of the city centre.

The address is:

You can find out more information about getting here and you should also note that if you are visiting for the first time, you should bring photographic identification with you:

• Getting here (nidirect)

Further information

Further information can be found at the PRONI website:

• Public Record Office Northern Ireland (nidirect)
• PRONI: Protecting and Providing Archives for All
• Temporary suspension of FOI requests in PRONI - FAQs