Stephen Scarth will tell the story of the creation and establishment of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in 1923. He will explore how PRONI has sought to fill the gap following the destruction of six centuries of records when the former Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI), based in Dublin, was destroyed by fire in 1922. Stephen will also reflect on how the archive has changed over the past century and on its unique collecting remit. 

Stephen Scarth is Head of Public Services at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), a division within the Department for Communities (NI). He has been in post since 2010, and is responsible for all customer related activities. Stephen has over 25 years’ experience working in archives and is a current board member of the Archives & Records Association UK & Ireland. His interests have included marking centenaries, contested history, digital inclusion and the upcoming 100th anniversary of PRONI. Stephen is a regular contributor and speaker on archives on topics that relate to the decade of centenaries.