The Madill Archive Project focused on preserving, documenting and make publicly accessible maritime heritage records and traditional Irish boat designs.
The project was delivered by a partnership between Ulster University, PRONI, National Museums Northern Ireland, Marine Division, DAERA and Ulster Maritime Heritage and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The main aim of the project was to make a maritime archive created by Portstewart-born Harry Madill freely available to the public. Harry created the archive in response to his realisation that traditional fishing and sailing craft around the coast of Ulster were fast disappearing. This archive is held at PRONI and comprises a number of elements.
Boat Surveys (D4790/1)
Drawing on his engineering background, Harry created surveys of 34 individual traditional wooden fishing and sailing vessels or vernacular vessel types. These surveys include Harry's own meticulous lines drawings, all of which have been digitised.
The lines drawings, survey photographs and Harry’s reports have been digitised and are available to access through the PRONI onsite catalogue and the eCatalogue. The remaining survey papers, which include research papers, are catalogued and accessible onsite at PRONI.
Photographs (D4790/2)
Harry took over 5000 photographs of traditional craft and recorded a wealth of information on individual vessels and vessel types. All of these photographs have been fully catalogued and a sample have been digitised.
The digitised photographs and a further 400 digital photographs from the collection of Dr Robin Ruddock are available through the PRONI onsite catalogue and the eCatalogue. The remaining photographs are accessible onsite at PRONI.
Oral History (D4790/3)
The archive includes oral history interviews conducted by Harry with fishermen and those working in maritime industries. Recordings of 6 individuals have been fully transcribed.
The transcriptions and the audio recordings are available through the PRONI onsite catalogue and eCatalogue.
Reference Material (D4790/4)
A range of reference materials and reports on boats and fisheries compiled or written by Harry Madill will be catalogued and made available at a later date.
Madill Archive Project (D4790/5)
A key project output was a filmed oral history recording of Harry Madill conducted by Dr Wes Forsythe, Ulster University (catalogue reference number D4790/5/1/1/1). The interview and transcript are available through the PRONI onsite catalogue and eCatalogue.
The project also sought to reconnect with the individuals and families of those nine men that Mr Harry Madill interviewed as part of his survey and investigation into traditional boats and maritime communities. Biographies of seven of these nine men have been completed to date (catalogue reference numbers D4790/5/2/1-7).
Materials relating to the exhibition 'The Strakes and Skins’ that was launched at the Public Record Office (PRONI) in Belfast in July 2023 are available through the PRONI onsite catalogue and eCatalogue. These include digital photographs taken at the launch and a copy of a PowerPoint presentation delivered by Dr Wes Forsythe (catalogue reference number (D4790/5/3/3/2/1).
A spreadsheet that traces the location and condition of boats surveyed by Harry Madill (catalogue reference number D4790/5/4/1) is available through the PRONI onsite catalogue and eCatalogue.
Searching the Madill Archive
You can search the Madill Archive on the eCatalogue under the catalogue reference number D4790. By selecting the 'Browse' options, you can navigate within the different sections of the archive.
You can also search using keywords such as 'yawl', 'skiff', 'currach', 'drontheim'.