Collection
3 items
Brenda Malone, Curator of Military History at The National Museum of Ireland, explores the 1937 Irish Hospital Sweepstakes Pigeon Derby in Dublin and a 1929 Civic Week Pageant of Industry in Dublin, showcasing over sixty different manufacturers. This film is part of The Irish Independence Film Collection – The Early Irish Free State that explores facets of Irish society after the War of Independence and up to the birth of the Irish Republic.
Over sixty Dublin manufactures take part in the Civic Week Pageant of Industry in September 1929. The Parade makes its way through O’Connell street, Corporation Fire engines and brands like “Jacob’s Biscuits” and “Guinness” trucks entertain the crowds as they pass through on floats and trucks. The first Irish Civic week Pageant launched in September 1929 at the Mansion house. The aim of the week was to give Dubliners a sense of pride and make them aware of various activities of Dublin people. Various events in addition to this pageant were organised including art exhibitions, theatre shows and a Military tattoo.
This newsreel shows a steamship carrying crates of pigeons arriving in Dublin in 1937 for the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes Pigeon Derby. The crates of birds are unloaded at the Dublin docks , and transported to the Croppies Accre (Collins Barracks), Dublin.. As the excitement builds, crowds gather and people in fancy dress (some dressed as pigeons) stand ready to release the birds. Signs show what clubs the birds have come from – many in the UK. , and the sky fills as the birds are released and scatter to find their bearings. Afterwards, Dublin’s Lord Mayor Alfred (Alfie) Byrne and an unnamed young woman receive gifts of pigeon eggs from a girl dressed in a pigeon suit. The Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstake was a lottery established in the Irish Free State in 1930 - with tickets sold as far afield as the UK and US - to finance hospitals and medical services. This film is part of The Irish Independence Film Collection – The Early Irish Free State that explores facets of Irish society after the War of Independence and up to the birth of the Irish Republic.