The man who chronicled the changing face of a city

Roger Weatherup was the museum's curator for almost 40 years

Tributes have been paid following the death of a man who chronicled the changing face of Armagh City.

Roger Weatherup was famed for photographing the city across many decades.

He became curator of Armagh County Museum in 1955 but colleague and current curator, Sean Barden, said one of "his most enduring legacies lies in the fieldwork he undertook, camera in hand, to document the changing landscape of County Armagh".

Mr Barden said Mr Weatherup's contributions extended "far beyond the confines of his office".

His photographic record captured pivotal moments, from the decline of the railway network to the devastation brought by the Troubles, preserving these transitions for the future.

"Roger's profound love for his adopted county, coupled with his extensive knowledge of its history, proved instrumental in transforming Ireland's oldest county museum into a model institution admired across Ireland and the United Kingdom," Mr Barden said.

His family said his legacy would live on in the local area and that he gave a sense of community to those who knew him.

His daughter, Kate, said he "welcomed all irrespective of their background" and was "supportive and generous to all who had an interest in history".

"Dad had lived through so much change and he documented it throughout his life," she told BBC News NI.

"He talked of an Armagh with a train station and a bustling livestock market when he first arrived in 1955, which suffered through the Troubles but always kept resilience and great community spirit."

Mr Weatherup had a "curator's eye", always knowing what to capture with his camera, documenting what may change as time moved on.

His daughter, Diane, reminisced a time when her father asked her to stand in a red telephone box, knowing it would soon be phased out.

Mr Weatherup's family said he loved working at the museum.

It wasn't work to him. History was his passion.

Kate said even on holiday and away from the museum he documented the world around him, "cataloguing historical sites, taking photographs of public transport, natural history and archaeological sites".

He loved the Orchard County.

He promoted the use of townland names and worked closely with the council planning service to ensure that developers respected and reflected local history in the names used in the town and county.

Former museum colleague, Aidan Walsh, said he was a community curator who believed in "serving his community above all other considerations."

Mr Weatherup met members of the Royal Family on several occasions, the late Queen Elizabeth II when she bestowed city status on Armagh.

He accompanied the late Queen and "chatted to her the way he would have anyone in the street", his daughter said.

By the time of his retirement in 1992, Mr Weatherup had devoted 37 years to curating "one of the finest museum collections in Ireland".