County Antrim Archives and Libraries

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Archives[edit | edit source]

Northern Ireland is divided into 11 districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland, local councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom. Their functions include planning, waste and recycling services, leisure and community services, building control and local economic and cultural development. Therefore, these districts do not maintain archives and libraries.[1]

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Cultural Heritage Service Collection, Belfast
Belfast Central Library
Royal Avenue
Belfast
BT1 1EA
Northern Ireland

Telephone: 028 9050 9156
Email: belfast.heritage@librariesni.org.uk
Collection Information

The largest Cultural Heritage collection in Libraries NI is located in Belfast Central Library. As well as material relating to all of Ireland much of this collection relates to Belfast specifically.

Newspaper Library

List of microfilmed newspapers
The largest collection of local newspapers in Northern Ireland is held in the Newspaper library in Belfast Central Library. Ranging in date from the 18th century to the present day the newspaper collection includes almost complete runs of the Belfast newspaper titles, most notably the Belfast Newsletter from 1759, as well as a large range of provincial newspaper titles from every county in Northern Ireland and some from the Republic of Ireland.

Cultural Heritage Service Collection, Ballymena
Ballymena Central Library
5 Pat’s Brae
Ballymena
BT43 5AX
Northern Ireland

Telephone: 028 2563 3950
Email: ballymena.heritage@librariesni.org.uk
Collection Information

  • The main Cultural Heritage collection for County Antrim is located in Ballymena Central Library. THE HERITAGE COLLECTION is on the first floor in Ballymena Central Library and covers all aspects of life in County Antrim and County Londonderry.

Irish & Local Studies Collection
Linen Hall Library
17 Donegall Square North
Belfast
BT1 5GB
Northern Ireland

Telephone: +44 (0)28 9032 1707
Email: info@linenhall.com
Website

Main library in Belfast containing many genealogical records for the area including County Antrim. The Linen Hall has fantastic resources to support genealogy and the study of family histories attracting researchers locally and from around the world. From ‘how to’ guides for those beginning their genealogy journey, to gravestone inscriptions, military lists, passenger lists, lists of clergy, and information on surnames, place-names and street directories. Unique to the Linen Hall, the Blackwood Pedigrees of handwritten family trees and the Belfast News Letter Birth, Death and Marriage Index 1737-1863 are fascinating resources which bring family history to life.[2]

Ulster Historical Foundation
Bradley Thallon House
Unit 44D, Kiltonga Estate
Belfast Road, Newtownards
BT23 4TJ
Northern Ireland

Telephone: +44 (028) 91 812073
Email: enquiry@uhf.org.uk
Search databases

Randal Gill Library
The North of Ireland Family History Society
NIFHS Branches
Website
Clans, Biographies, Family Trees and Names
Family Trees and Books about Families

Many Members contribute to our Transcribing and Indexing Projects. Some compilations of records, as books or CDs, are available in our online Shop. The Transcribed Records fall into the categories: Church Records, Graveyard Records and Newspaper Records. Many of these are only available in the Library.

Local libraries may have collections relating to families--newspaper clippings, donated family histories, published local histories, not ubiquitous but worth checking. The largest library in a district might serve some archive functions. County Antrim is part of the following districts: Antrim and Newtownabbey; Belfast; Causeway Coast and Glens; Mid and East Antrim; Lisburn and Castlereagh; Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.

Museums[edit | edit source]

Sentry Hill Historic House and Visitor Centre
40 Ballycraigy Road
Sentry Hill
BT36 8SX Glengormley
Northern Ireland
Telephone: +44 28 9083 2363
Email

The extensive collection provides a rare insight into the working lives, social activities, beliefs and values of rural families in Ulster during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Civil Registration Offices[edit | edit source]

  • How duplicate certificates are obtained has changed. These can no longer be issued from district registration offices.
  • All birth records from 1864 to 100 years ago have been digitized and are free to view and download at IrishGenealogy.ie. Some of the later marriage and death records can also be downloaded from this site.
  • An index of Ireland Civil Registration -including births, 1864-1958, marriages, 1845-1958, and deaths, 1864-1958 - is available online at FamilySearch's Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958 (An index of Ireland civil registration including 1864-1958 births, 1845-1958 marriages, and 1864-1958 deaths, but excluding index records for Northern Ireland after its creation in 1922.)
  • The General Register Office, Northern Ireland (GRONI) provides an online service for searching and ordering civil registration records. To search the records online, you must register for an account.

Websites[edit | edit source]

Emerald Ancestors provides instant access to one of the largest collections of Northern Ireland genealogy records available, containing birth, marriage, death and census records for over 1.5 million Irish ancestors. Our extensive Ulster ancestry database covers Irish Family records from civil registration indexes, church registers and historical sources in Counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry & Tyrone.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Local government in Northern Ireland", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_government_in_Northern_Ireland, accessed 31 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "Irish and Local Studies", at Linen Hall, https://www.linenhall.com/collections/irish-local-studies/, accessed 30 March 2023.

References[edit | edit source]

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