Irish Film Institute
IFI Archive
Player

Collection

Newsreel Categories

157 items

6m 20s

Dublin Rebellion

In this newsreel British Troops march through the streets of Dublin and stand guard over the ruins of buildings in Dublin’s main thoroughfare, Sackville Street (two years after these events the street would be renamed O’Connell Street after the nationalist leader Daniel O’Connell). The city of Dublin is in ruins and smoke continues to billow from the GPO, the Four Courts and the Metropole Hotel. Civilians stand on piles of rubble and observe the destruction far more closely than they would be allowed to today… This footage was first screened in public on May 6th 1916, just one week after the events of the Easter Rising (April 24th -29th ). The Easter Rising was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week, April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish Republicans to end British rule in Ireland and to establish an independent Irish Republic while the United Kingdom was heavily engaged in the First World War. It was the most significant uprising in Ireland since the rebellion of 1798, and the first armed action of the Irish revolutionary period (which would ultimately lead to the creation of the Irish Free State).

1m 22s

Ireland's Agony

The Burning of Cork by British forces took place on the night of December 11th and 12th 1920 , during the Irish War of Independence. It followed an Irish Republican Army ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in the city, which wounded twelve auxiliaries, one fatally. In retaliation the Auxiliaries, Black and Tans and British soldiers looted and burnt numerous buildings in the city center. Many civilians reported being beaten, shot at, and robbed by British forces. Firefighters testified that British forces hindered their attempts to tackle the blazes through intimidation, cutting their hoses and shooting at them. More than 40 business premises, 300 residential properties, the City Hall and Carnegie Library were destroyed by the fire. Over £3 million worth of damage (equivalent to €172 million today) was wrought, 2,000 people were left jobless and many more became homeless.

54s

Michael Collins

“Our Cameraman was there”. Michael Collins endorses the Anglo-Irish Treaty to an audience gathered at the Grand Parade in Cork City, where he receives an enthusiastic reception. It’s not too long before the crowd is seen surging backwards as several men begin to fire their guns in the crowd. This is the same footage that’s featured in “The Great Cork Treaty” newsreel. Michael Collins described The Treaty as “the freedom to achieve freedom”. In practice, The Treaty offered most of the symbols and powers of independence. These included a functioning, if disputed, parliamentary democracy with its own executive, judiciary and a written constitution which could be changed by the Oireachtas. Although a Republic was not an option at the time, The Treaty still afforded Ireland more internal independence than it had possessed in over 400 years, and far exceeded the most optimistic goals of the Home Rule movement.

2m 46s

Michael Collins Crowds

In this newsreel from August 1922: More than half a million people line O’Connell street to pay their respects to Michael Collins and silently bid farewell to “Ireland’s Soldier Statesman”. His brother Seán Collins can be seen behind the coffin as it leaves the Pro-Cathedral on Marlborough Street Dublin, on its way to Glasnevin Cemetary. Michael Collins was an Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early 20th century Irish struggle for independence. He was Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State from January 1922. He was assassinated on August 22nd 1922 in Cork.

1m 17s

Peace Council at the Palace - Pathé

This is typical of the newsreels’ optimism that a peaceful solution could be found to the Irish question. In spite of the fact that this item reports the ‘splendid news’ that ‘peace was signed’ and depicts amicable interactions between the British and Irish delegation, the negotiations had been difficult and protracted. Michael Collins reported later the realization that he had just signed his own death warrant. Eight months later the newsreels would be reporting his funeral. Go to the “Read More” section below for notes by Ciara Chambers.

3m 56s

President Cosgrave

In this newsreel from November 1930, President William T. Cosgrave speaks to the camera (for the first time with sound) addressing Ireland and “her status and International affairs”. In this heavily edited newsreel (an exclusive to Pathé) he talks about the international and economic struggles that face everyone at this time, as well as Ireland being slightly detached from the world due to its rural economic situation. William Thomas Cosgrave succeeded Michael Collins as Chairman of the Irish Provisional Government from August to December 1922 and then served as President of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932.

2m 00s

Sinn Féin Rebels

In this newsreel we see disarmed Sinn Féin rebels marching from the Richmond Barracks in Inchicore, to be deported in Kingstown (now known as Dun Laoghaire). The Richmond Barracks is where more than 3,000 rebels including 1916 Rising leaders were sent for executions or to prison camps in England and wales. A still of Eoin Mac Neill is shown towards the end of the newsreel. Mac Neill established the Irish Volunteers in 1913, and served as its Chief-of-Staff. He held this position at the outbreak of the Easter Rising but had no role in the Rising or its planning, and after learning about the Easter Monday uprising he confronted Patrick Pearse and put up a last-minute news advertisment advising Volunteers not to take part. He was later elected to the First Dáil as a member of Sinn Féin.

2m 00s

Sinn Féin Rebels

In this newsreel we see disarmed Sinn Féin rebels marching from the Richmond Barracks in Inchicore, to be deported from Kingstown (now known as Dun Laoghaire).The Richmond Barracks is where more than 3,000 rebels including 1916 Rising leaders were sent for executions or to prison camps in England and wales. A still of Eoin Mac Neill is shown towards the end of the newsreel. Mac Neill established the Irish Volunteers in 1913, and served as its Chief-of-Staff. He held this position at the outbreak of the Easter Rising but had no role in the Rising or its planning, and after learning about the Easter Monday uprising he confronted Patrick Pearse and put up a last-minute news advertisment advising Volunteers not to take part. He was later elected to the First Dáil as a member of Sinn Féin.

33s

The Irreconcilable Mr. De Valera

This footage shot on March 1922 shows Éamon de Valera standing on a podium giving an animatedly irate speech to a large gathering of people on Sackville street in Dublin (O’Connell Street). In this speech he said if the Treaty was accepted, it might be necessary to “wade through Irish blood” to achieve Irish freedom. Many of de Valera’s enemies stated this would encourage Civil War. The Irish Civil War started on June 28th that year and ended May 1923 when the pro-treaty Free State forces beat the anti-Treaty IRA. The Treaty, which would replace the Republic as a dominion of the British Commonwealth, was signed on December 6th. De Valera was not happy with the signing of it as he had stipulated that regardless of the outcome the delegates should not be pressured into any agreements and should return to consult with the cabinet and him, their President. After the Treaty was narrowly ratified, de Valera and a large majority of Sinn Féin T.D.s left Dáil Éireann and Arthur Griffith was elected President.

33s

The Irreconcilable Mr. De Valera

This footage shot on March 1922 shows Éamon de Valera standing on a podium giving an animatedly irate speech to a large gathering of people on Sackville street in Dublin (O’Connell Street). In this speech he said if the Treaty was accepted, it might be necessary to “wade through Irish blood” to achieve Irish freedom. Many of de Valera’s enemies stated this would encourage Civil War. The Irish Civil War started on June 28th that year and ended May 1923 when the pro-treaty Free State forces beat the anti-Treaty IRA. The Treaty, which would replace the Republic as a dominion of the British Commonwealth, was signed on December 6th. De Valera was not happy with the signing of it as he had stipulated that regardless of the outcome, that delegates should not be pressured into any agreements and should return to consult with the cabinet and him, their President. After the Treaty was narrowly ratified, de Valera and a large majority of Sinn Féin T.D.s left Dáil Éireann and Arthur Griffith was elected President.

3m 48s

The Trial of Roger Casement

This newsreel contains various segments, the first short item capturing crowds gathering on Bow Street Magistrates Court waiting to hear the outcome of the trial of British diplomat turned Irish nationalist Sir Roger Casement. Only one piece of footage of Casement himself is known to exist, and for this Topical Budget’s newsreel, cameras had to improvise as his dramatic downfall played out. Arrested on April 21st 1916, hours after landing on the Kerry coast in a German submarine and just three days before the Easter Rising began in Dublin, Casement was whisked away to London to stand trial for treason. He was executed on August 3rd , his fate sealed by the discovery and distribution of the legendary ‘Black Diaries’, which contained accounts of his homosexual activities. His body was buried in quicklime at Pentonville Prison and his remains not repatriated to Ireland until 1965. The remaining segments include Sir John Maxwell inspecting the troops in the Trinity College grounds in May 1916 as well as soldiers stacking up Rifles and Pikes at Islandbridge Barracks.

42s

Countess Markievicz: The Only Woman Candidate Returned

In this newsreel, Countess Markievicz is elected as MP for the St Patrick’s Division of Dublin. She was the first woman to ever be elected into British Parliament. But she refused to take her seat but rather joined other Sinn Fein TDs and formed the first Dail Eireann. Constance Georgine Markievicz, known as Countess Markievicz was a Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail politician, a suffragette, socialist and revolutionary Nationalist. As a founding member of Fianna Eireann and Cumann na mBan she was an active contributor to the 1916 Easter Rising, second-in-command at St Stephen’s Green. After Surrendering she was arrested and sentenced to death, but this was then changed to life imprisonment on account of her gender.In 1917 she was released.

2m 01s

Crowds Protest Against Compulsory Military Service

The Conscription Crisis of 1918 stemmed from a move by the British government to impose conscription (military draft) in Ireland in April 1918, during the First World War. In this newsreel we see vigorous opposition from crowds of people. These protests were primarily led by trade unions, Irish nationalist parties and Roman Catholic bishops and priests. A conscription law was passed but was never put into effect, no one in Ireland was drafted into the British Army. The proposal and backlash galvanised support for political parties which advocated Irish separatism and influenced events in the lead-up to the Irish War of Independence.