PRONI is a proud collaborator of the Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN), an important resource for broadening our understanding of the Troubles and Northern Ireland politics. Through this partnership, thousands of digitised PRONI records from 1968 onwards are now available to view online, offering unique insights into government decision-making during this pivotal period. Learn more about the collaboration and available records below.
About CAIN
CAIN was launched in 1997 and is based in the International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE) at Ulster University. The aim of the archive is to provide information and access to source material on the Troubles and politics in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present day. The site is widely used by academic researchers and others working in areas such as historical, cultural, conflict resolution, peace-studies and Irish studies.
PRONI records on CAIN
Since it was launched, CAIN has encouraged external contributors to the site. In 2009, it was proposed that a selection of public records held by PRONI could be digitised and made available through CAIN. Records released under the Annual Release relating to the Troubles and Northern Ireland politics from 1968 onwards, were of particular interest.
PRONI records on CAIN mainly cover the years 1968 to 2001 with some additional records from 1964 and 1965 relating to issues around education. The files were created by a range of government departments including the Cabinet Secretariat, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of the Prime Minister. Over 4,000 of our public records are now available through CAIN, amounting to over 19,000 pages.
Following our Annual Release, newly accessible PRONI records relating to the Troubles and politics in Northern Ireland are selected to be digitised and added to CAIN.
There is a designated section on the CAIN website called ‘PRONI Records on CAIN’. You can also find this on the CAIN homepage, where you can search the website and explore the archive by a range of topics.
On the PRONI page of the website, you can:
- view the available PRONI records by year of release
- search the records by title, author, and year
- filter the search by keywords and phrases