Excellent news just in from the Public Record Office of Northen Ireland: Replacement computer terminals with dedicated connection to the General Register Office of Northern Ireland have been installed in PRONI's Search Room and are now up and running.
It's been a long wait. The old terminals – installed in 2016 – gave up the ghost sometime in mid-2022, and replacements were expected to be available by the end of the year. Then it went ominously quiet. I stopped pestering PRONI and GRONI some months ago, assuming the replacements were not a priority.
At long last, there are again four terminals fully connected at PRONI's Titanic Boulevard offices in Belfast, making the trip out to Stranmillis, where GRONI has been based for eight years, unnecessary for most genealogists.
Researchers using the database on the Internet are restricted to historical birth, marriage and death records under the 100-75-50-year rule, but access via the GRONI/PRONI computers does not have these restrictions. Records can be searched right up to current registrations.
It is a pay-to-search service and requires users to register with GRONI. You can see exactly what is available here, and scrolling down to the GRONI Public Search Room section.
In view of the long delay in getting the new terminals up and ready, there is likely to be pent-up demand for access in PRONI's Search Room. In response, PRONI is asking that customers limit use during busy times to 20 minutes per person.