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Public Record Office of Northern Ireland

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Search the archives

Freeholders' records search screen Example of an online index available on the PRONI website Researching the records

What can I access online?

At present, you can access three types of archival information online:

Online archives

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has a programme of digitising significant archives to make them accessible to the public online.
Online archives are fully searchable. When you find an entry you are interested in, you can then view a digital image of the original document. The following are currently available:
A project to index and digitise 1858 - c1900 wills from the District Probate Registries of Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry is almost complete. Phase one - an index to the will calendar entries (grants of probate and letters of administration) - is now available on the PRONI website. Phase two - to link the will calendar entries to the digitised images of the wills - will follow shortly.

PRONI's electronic Catalogue (eCatalogue)

The eCatalogue is a fully searchable database containing over one million catalogue entries relating to PRONI’s archives.
The search facility allows you to find catalogue entries using text, date or PRONI Reference Number searches.
The browse facility allows you to navigate up and down the various levels of a catalogue.
The catalogue entries describe the records held in PRONI.  If you want to see the records they relate to firsthand, you will have to visit PRONI.  If you are unable to visit PRONI, can someone else do research for me? provides information on other ways to access the records.

Online guides and indexes

The Name Search database currently includes the following set if searchable indexes:
  • index to pre-1858 wills (which are to be found in various collections in PRONI) and a selection of diocesan will indexes
  • surviving fragments of the 1740 and the 1766 religious census returns
  • 1775 dissenters petitions
  • pre-1910 coroners' inquest papers
Online guides and indexes lists guides and indexes which can be viewed on this website.  PRONI's Guide to Church Records is now available on the PRONI website.  For information on all of PRONI's finding aids, see catalogues, guides, indexes and leaflets.
You can use the above guides and indexes to identify archives or information you may be interested in, find out more information about the contents of an archive and identify PRONI reference numbers.  However, please note, you cannot view images of the actual records online.