The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is the official archive for Northern Ireland. It 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.
Founded in 1923, it is located in the Titanic Quarter, Belfast and now operates as part of the Department for Communities (within the Northern Ireland Civil Service).
Currently PRONI holds millions of documents that relate chiefly, but by no means exclusively, to Northern Ireland and these records date back from the present day to the 17th century. In terms of the records held in PRONI these fall into two main categories. The first of these are known as ‘privately deposited archives’ and cover such things as business records, personal diaries and letters, church registers, emigrant letters, and vast landed estate archives. Secondly, there are ‘public records’ which generally relate to documents produced from ‘official’ sources such as the civil service and other governmental agencies.
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