Sentry Hill in Carnmoney, Co Antrim, has been the home of the McKinney family for hundreds of years. Their experience has been typical of many Northern Irish farming families, but what makes Sentry Hill remarkable is the abundance of historical records - both documentary and photographic - kept by the successive generations.

W.F. McKinney (1832-1917) was the most energetic and enthusiastic of this family, undertaking, in addition to the duties of a prosperous farmer, the task of recording the life and activities of himself, his family and his neighbours. His copious diaries and letters, especially his unique collection of striking photographs, yield a wealth of detail about a rural community at a time of great social and political change.