Roots Revealed

08/01/2026

Can you help with providing us with information on photographs from one of our collections?

The Albert McAlpine Photographic Collection (D4977) contains over 3000 photographs on 35mm slide format along with digitised copies of these images. The photographs were taken by Albert E McAlpine and date mainly to the 1980s with some dating as early as 1957. Mr McAlpine’s family indexed and digitised the collection before depositing it with PRONI.

These photographs mainly relate to Belfast, particularly the east of the city. However, some photographs have limited descriptive information. As these photographs were taken within living memory, we hope that some of you could help us identify the exact location of these images. We will use this information to update the PRONI catalogue and make the collection more discoverable.

The below image (D4977/10/214) was taken in a park in September 1965, but do you know where?

Image courtesy of Mr Philip McAlpine

07/01/2026

Do you have Royal Navy ancestors? If so this new collection recently uploaded to Findmypast will be of interest.

29/12/2025

An insight into the material contained in the annual release of State Papers.

The State Papers include letters, communications, private briefing notes, secret government documents, fax messages and e-mails relating to stories from the past.

13/12/2025

***Christmas and New Year Closure Dates***

Please note that PRONI will be closed on the following days:

Wednesday 24th, Thursday 25th and Friday 26th December

Thursday 1st January 2026

11/12/2025

02/12/2025

Are you wondering what Christmas present will delight the person who loves family history but is difficult to buy for? A Genealogy Gift Voucher from Roots Revealed is the ideal present. For more details please see https://rootsrevealed.co.uk/gift-vouchers/

02/12/2025

Join APG on 10 December 2025 for a FREE webinar featuring experts from the Virtual Treasury of Ireland (VTRI), which is working to virtually reconstruct the records lost in the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922. Presenters Dr. Ciarán Wallace and Dr. Brian Gurrin will discuss archival tragedy, reconstruction, and will demonstrate the many genealogical resources available on the free research platform. APG is pleased to be a supporter of the preservation efforts of the VRTI.
All are welcome to attend. More information & registration at https://bit.ly/3JoL6mK

25/11/2025

Great news for researchers...

Tracing Ireland’s Land History: The Digitisation of the Keane Index Monday, 24 November 2025 The records of the Irish Land Commission stem from the Irish Land Purchase Acts (1881–1923), landmark legislation that enabled the transfer of land ownership from landlords to tenant farmers. Today, thes...

23/11/2025

Our research centre at Newtownabbey is a treasure trove of records, journals, maps, transcriptions and loads more. Everyone is welcome and we have volunteers on hand to help you find what you need.

Find out about opening hours, facilities and directions here: https://www.nifhs.org/research-centre-resources/research-centre/

23/11/2025

Preservation Week at PRONI will run from Monday 24 November until Friday 28 November.
During this time, document ordering will be unavailable however the Search Room will remain open to the public.

18/11/2025

My next talk and the last one for this year is for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough on location at Sentry Hill, Newtownabbey. The talk is an Introduction to Irish Family History Research and starts at 6.30pm. For more information and to book your place, please see

Historical Locations. Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.