Communities Minister Gordon Lyons encouraged interested researchers to avail of the new guide, saying: “On National Sporting Heritage Day, it is only fitting that we mark the day by launching the Alphabetical Index to Sports Records at PRONI. PRONI has a rich treasure trove of sporting material ranging from badminton to boxing and hockey to horse racing, and this guide is an important research tool for anyone interested in learning more about our local sporting heritage.
“The collection also includes Olympic materials, including papers about the sporting career of our first athletics gold medal winner Dame Mary Peters. This launch is particularly timely as we celebrate our new generation of Olympians and Paralympians at a homecoming event at the SSE this Thursday.”
PRONI has a number of collections of interest to sports enthusiasts including the Irish Football Association, Northern Ireland Women’s Football Association and the Papers of the Northern Ireland Athletes Federation.
PRONI is also keen to accept new and future deposits across the whole spectrum of sport and sportspeople, especially records such as minutes, photographs, correspondence and membership lists. Contact [email protected] for more information on how to gift materials.
To find out more about the Paris Celebration event happening at the SSE this Thursday visit: https://www.ssearenabelfast.com/whats-on/paris-celebration-event