Over 3500 images of records from our archives have been added to the photo-sharing website Flickr, and are available to view online. View the PRONI Flickr Photostream
The images are mainly from three important photographic collections, but also include a variety of other records. Many images were digitised from original photographic prints or negatives that date from as early as 1855.
You can explore the images on Flickr by using the albums feature or you can you can use the search box and enter a family name or keyword.
Use of PRONI images on Flickr
Our images of PRONI records on Flickr have no known copyright restrictions, usually because we hold the copyright or because the term of copyright has expired.
The images in the Flickr photostream are available for research, non-commercial purposes or study purposes. When using the images, please credit the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and include the catalogue reference number of the item (you will find this in the description) to help others access the original image or document.
If you are interested in high-quality reproductions, or commercial re-use of these images please email us: proni@communities-ni.gov.uk.
The Allison Photographic Collection
The first collection of PRONI images to be made available on Flickr were wedding and family group portraits and other portraits and populated scenes taken by the Allison Photographic Studios, Armagh, between c. 1900 and 1950.
The Allison Collection provides a good photographic account of urban and rural life in Armagh and the surrounding counties from the early 1900s until the Second World War.
The PRONI Reference for the Allison Collection is D2886 and you can view an introduction to the collection on our eCatalogue.
The Cooper Photographic Collection
PRONI holds over 70,000 original glass plate negatives originating from the Cooper Photographic studio in Strabane, County Tyrone, dating from c. 1901 to 1960.
A sample set of around 900 previously unseen portraits from the Cooper collection were cleaned and digitised by PRONI staff between 2013 and 2015. They are now available for the public to view via the PRONI Flickr Photostream.
Unfortunately, no written records exist to identify the people captured in the images and we would love to hear from you if you can help. Add any information you may have to Flickr as a photo comment, or email proni@communities-ni.gov.uk.
The PRONI Reference for the Cooper Collection is D1422 and you can view an introduction to the collection on our eCatalogue.
The Annesley Photographic Collection
During 2021 and 2022, a collection of early photographs taken by the Honourable Hugh Annesley (5th Earl Annesley of Castlewellan) were added to Flickr. They are from albums held by PRONI which date from the mid-1850s to the 1880s.
Hugh Annesley was a pioneering amateur photographer who used the early 'wet collodion' process to create his glass plate negatives. The earliest photographs in the Annesley albums date from the early 1850s, when the young Hugh Annesley served in the Southern African War. Photography was an activity that would interest him for the rest of his life. Subjects represented include portraits of Grenadier Guards and other military contemporaries; scenes of Castlewellan Castle and the estate; the family's other residence, Donard Lodge in Newcastle, County Down; family members and household staff.
The PRONI Reference for the Annesley Papers is D1854 and you can view an introduction to the collection on our eCatalogue. The reference for the photographic collection specifically is D1854/5.