Monday 24 May 2021

Northern Ireland's research and heritage venues start to reopen

It's a big day in Northern Ireland with most of its repositories and some heritage sites reopening after a long five months of Lockdown.

For researchers, the major venues of PRONI (the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland) and GRONI (General Register Office of Northern Ireland) have reopened to the public this morning, both on an appointment-only basis. If you're needing to visit PRONI in the near future, you'll need to check out the changes to their services and follow new procedures for visiting. All these details are on their webpages.

GRONI is a little later to the party, with no updated information about revised procedures on their website, although their pages confirm they will reopen today. Probably best to phone for details of visitor arrangements until their post-Lockdown regime is published.

The Linen Hall Library has reopened today with a brand-new cafe, now featuring decor inspired by Irish mythology and folk stories. (It's always worth remembering this venue if you're peckish or thirsty when in central Belfast.)

On the museum front, be sure to check before setting out to visit, as some are not yet ready to open the doors to the public. While Fermanagh County Museum and the Inniskillings Museum both reopen today in Enniskillen, as does the Siege Museum in Derry City, the Ulster Folk Park in Omagh will hold off until tomorrow, and Titanic Belfast will not reopen until Thursday May 27.