Wednesday 28 August 2013

Minister recommends PRONI for NI genealogy

Speaking in advance of tonight's Who Do You Think You Are? episode, Northern Ireland's Culture Minister, Carál Ní Chuilín, has encouraged people to avail of the records held in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland.

The Minister said: 'Back in April the BBC production team visited PRONI to help research the family history of Lord Sugar’s aide, Nick Hewer, and this is the first time that PRONI has featured in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are. PRONI has a vast array of all sorts of records which would be of interest to local historians or anyone researching their family history. All of the records are free to access and some records can be accessed online at the PRONI website.'

She applauded PRONI staff for their 'wealth of knowledge' and said they are always on hand to help members of the public access records or to use the viewing machines to see copies of original documents. She mentioned also the repository's online series of information leaflets. 'I would highly recommend a visit to PRONI to anyone who has an interest in both their own family tree and local history,' she said.

The Nick Hewer episode of the programme will be broadcast on BBC1 at 9pm.