The Research Centre and the Society office are located in two rooms within the Mount Masonic Centre at 45 Park Avenue, Belfast, BT4 1PU. The Research Centre and Office are on the upper floor, turn right at the top of the stairs and the library is on the right hand side of corridor.
The Research Centre is staffed by members of local branches who have volunteered to help members. Use of the Research Centre is restricted to branch and associate members. Both are welcome, although it is always advisable to check ahead of a visit. Enquiries by post about accessing the Research Centre should be addressed to the address listed here or by e-mail to the address listed here.
It is possible to arrange visits outside these hours and within the opening hours of the building, but as much notice as possible should be given to ensure access. The Research Centre is locked unless a Society member is present and Masonic Centre staff do not have access to the Research Centre.
There is a restaurant in the building and lunch and/or a mid morning coffee is available. Click here for further details.
Please note that commencing on 15th March the Research Centre will no longer open on Saturday mornings.
The Research Centre is organised into five main sections largely based on format, the sections are Irish Genealogy, Rest of the World Genealogy, Directories, Periodicals, and Federation of Family History Societies Publications. The sections are not exclusive e.g. the first two sections also contain some periodicals.
Each of these main sections are further divided into subdivisions, based on the subject of the material e.g Church Directories or the title of a periodical e.g 'The Ancestor' or a series e.g. 'My Ancestors'.
Each item in the Research Centre has a shelfmark/accession number in the format AA999-999, which indicates where the item is shelved.
For an explanation of the shelfmark system and a full list of shelfmarks click here.
The Research Centre holds a wide range of material of use to the family historian, including direct genealogical information, background historical information and the "How to...." books. The listings accessible through the links in this section are not the total holdings of the Research Centre but are a good representation of the extent of the holdings.
For a listing of headings used in this section click here.
For a listing of headings used in this section click here.
For a listing of headings used in this section click here.
For a listing of titles held in this section click here.
For a listing of headings used in this section click here.
Other material not included in the above sections are the the Society's collection of maps and indexes.
The map collection is stored in the map drawers and comprises virtually a complete set of 6 inches to a mile maps dating from the 1930s to 1950s, and a good selection of the following scales 1:1,250, 1:2,500, 1:10,000 and 1:25,000.
In the Research Centre are indexes for:- Memorial Cards; Family Trees; Ancestor Charts; Lateral Links; Solicitors’ Boxes; Index of Gravestone Inscriptions, Rent Rolls, Hearth Money Rolls, Census etc. found in NIFHS Library Books and Journals; Northern Ireland Births 1922 – 1971; Northern Ireland Deaths 1956 – 1971.
The Research Centre also holds Genealogical Research Directories from 1985-2005.
The Librarian acquired 13 items in the last month. Items of note include:
| Place Names of Northern Ireland Vol. 2, Co Derry, Moyola Valley |
| Derry and Antrim Yearbook 2007 |
| The Bann Disc Vol. 7 2006, Coleraine Historical Society |
| Irish Family History Society Vol. 22, 2006 |
| Donaghadee: an Illustrated History. |
