Collection
The Irish Independence Film Collection
135 items
The period 1900-1930 was one of the most turbulent in Irish history, with WW1, the Easter Rising, the War of Independence, the Irish Civil War all taking place. Due to the emergence of cine camera technology in the 1890s these three decades are the first to be widely documented on film however Ireland’s lack of indigenous filmmaking during the early part of the last century, means the moving image record of this pivotal period in our history was predominantly captured by non-Irish agencies, who created newsreels of Irish events to play alongside their home-grown stories in cinemas. In the early part of the 20th century, before the advent of television, newsreels radio and newspapers, were the predominant way for the public to keep up to date with important events.
Until recently these Irish newsreel stories, filmed by British agencies, had not been held in an Irish Archive and many had not been available to the public since their initial distribution 100 years ago. The Decade of Commemorations presented the IFI with a unique opportunity to create the Irish Independence Film Collection, comprising Topical budget and British Pathé newsreels, with support from the Dept of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht. As part of this project the IFI was able to repatriate, safeguard and share these important visual documents centralising them in Ireland for the first time and making them available to the Irish public.
It was essential the IFI repatriated the best quality copy of this remarkable material, which so vividly details the political, social and cultural events that shaped the Irish State; so the IFI worked closely with the custodians of these collections, the British Film Institute and British Pathé , to ensure the best preservation outcome for this material. Acutely aware of the age and fragility of these newsreels we persuaded both organisations to go back to the original nitrate film prints and meticulously digitise them to HD Quality. The quality of the newly digitised footage is remarkable, allowing even those who maybe familiar with this material to see it in a whole new light with details that were previously indistinct, now crystal clear.
In order to add further value to the collection we enlisted assistance from National Museum of Ireland and University College Cork, whose staff helped to curate and catalogue the content thus, ensuring that the information presented to the public is as accurate as possible with important events, people and locations that had been originally missed by non-Irish cataloguers, now recorded. As part of the national centenary celebrations the Irish Film Institute has created a project that not only celebrates this momentous period in our history but that also has lasting value for the Irish people.
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1m 48s
This newsreel from April 4th 1900, shows Queen Victoria arriving in Dun Laoghaire and starting her nine mile journey to the Phoenix Park in open carriage via the Royal Triumphal Archway on Leeson Street. This temporary archway was erected at the city boundary and was built specifically for this visit.
The Queen stayed at the Vice-Regal lodge for the next twenty nights, visiting local schools and hospitals and meeting various Irish dignitaries. Her visit was considered a success but was divisive, resulting in a large increase in military and police in Dublin during her stay as well as a zero tolerance policy for protestors.
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26s
Contrary to the title of the newsreel, this is not footage from the Irish Peace Conference but rather a scene that was filmed of smartly dressed ladies and gentlemen exiting the Academy Cinema on Pearse street following a ‘Peace meeting’.
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1m 09s
This newsreel was filmed on July 10th 1911, as King George V and Queen Mary arrive in Dublin.
This was the King’s sixth time to visit Ireland but his first as king (having been crowned a fortnight earlier). As the new head of the British Empire, he had chosen to make his first visit to Ireland, and many of Ireland’s loyal absentee landowners had been recalled from London to be present. Given that Home Rule was the burning issue, authorities at the time were concerned about possible trouble such as violent demonstrations and an unfriendly reception.
The scenes from this newsreel show some boarded up shop windows, and scenes at the steps of a building in Trinity College show the King and Queen meeting a line-up of elderly veterans and soldiers.
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2m 45s
This newsreel is titled the ‘Orangemen Demonstrate’ but the people marching in Belfast are actually the Irish National Foresters and Ulster Volunteers.
The procession is followed by a group of women and young girls dressed in dark capes making their way through the city to a stadium where a demonstration is taking place. This footage is believed to be of Sir Edward Carson at ‘Ulster Day’ in 1912, when the Ulster Covenant was signed. The Ulster Covenant, was signed by nearly 500,000 people in Belfast 1912 in protest against the Third Home Rule Bill introduced by the British Government in the same year.
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57s
This short Topical Budget newsreel documents the by-election that took place on January 30th 1913, where Nationalist David C.Hogg defeated his Unionist rival Colonel Pakenham by 2699 votes to 2642. This win was a major blow to the Unionists as it meant that the Nationalists held a majority of one seat in the 9 county province of Ulster.
This is one of the earliest surviving examples of what would become one of Topical Budget’s most important contributions to recorded 20th century history: its comprehensive coverage of Anglo-Irish matters during a turbulent decade began with the British firmly in control, and ended with Irish independence.
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32s
This newsreel shows a large gathering of people in front of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union building (Liberty Hall) along with Jim Larkin , founder of the Irish Labour Party, ITGWU and the Workers Union of Ireland. This was most likely taken during the Lockout period of 1913 as we see shots of boats arriving with what appear to be supplies from English trade unions for the locked out workers.
The Dublin lock-out was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers which took place in Dublin. The dispute lasted from August 26th1913 to January 18th 1914, and is often viewed as the most severe and significant industrial dispute in Irish history. Central to the dispute was the workers’ right to unionise. Jim Larkin was instrumental in bringing about a socialist revolution by establishing trade unions and calling for general strikes.
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22s
This newsreel shows the funeral of victims of gun running, following the Bachelor’s Walk massacre on July 26th 1914. A large crowd of Irish Citizen Army members are seen in procession after a hearse.
At this time Irish Volunteers (who later became the Irish Republican Army) were actively bringing guns from Germany to Ireland in small boats.
The Bachelor’s Walk massacre happened when a column of British Army troops were accosted by a crowd on Bachelor’s Walk. The troops attacked “hostile but unarmed” protesters with rifle fire and bayonets – resulting in the deaths of four civilians and injuries to in excess of 30 more.
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45s
This newsreel shows Lord Wimborne, The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland being received by the officers and men of the Leinster Regiment on their state visit to Ballincurra on 21st August 1915. During this time, those who volunteered in 1914 would have completed their training and would be sent to the Western Front or Gallipoli.
Lord Wimborne was a British politician, and one of the last Lords Lieutenant of Ireland, serving in that position at the time of the Easter Rising. He was strongly criticised for not taking sufficient action to help prevent the 1916 Easter Rising.
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38s
This short newsreel shows what appears to be an Irish Volunteers parade on O’Connell street in 1915. A large group of people have gathered to see the troops march through the city.
The Irish Volunteers, sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was “to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland”.
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1m 32s
Filmed in Dublin 1915 this footage showsa British representative arriving through the gates of Dublin Castle with the Royal Lancer Cavalry leading the way followed by various horse units.
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1m 47s
This newsreel shows the funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan in August 1915. His wife Mary Jane and daughter Eileen can be seen paying their respects beside his coffin draped with the Tricolour flag followed by some Irish Volunteers, Fianna Éireann.
Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa was an Irish Fenian leader and prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. His life as an Irish Fenian is well documented but he is perhaps known best in death for the graveside oration given at his funeral by Patrick Pearse.
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1m 06s
This newsreel, although titled as Part 2 of the Sinn Féin Rising, does not initially show any of the Rising nor the aftermath, but rather showcases a Viceroy arriving off a boat and being greeted by a cheering crowd. This was most likely Ivor Guest (Lord Lieutenant, Viscount Wimborne) arriving in Belfast in 1915.
The newsreel ends with some shots of soldiers riding horses down what appears to be a street in Dublin, intercut with some scenes from the Rising footage seen in Part 1.
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18s
This newsreel set at the Dockland in Belfast shows Edward Carson and some other dignitaries being driven in an open top car, flanked on both sides of the street by Irish guards.
Sir Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, from 1900 to 1921, was an Irish unionist politician, barrister and judge. From Dublin, he became the leader of the Irish Unionist Alliance and Ulster Unionist Party between 1910 and 1921, held numerous positions in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
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1m 00s
In this newsreel filmed on St Patrick’s Day 1916, Mrs. Tredennick presents shamrock pins to the officers of the 18th Battalion London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) at the Duke of York’s Headquarters in Chelsea.
The London Irish Rifles (LIR) was a volunteer rifle regiment of the British army. From 1908 to 1920, the London Irish were transferred to the Territorial Force and renamed the 18th (County of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (London Irish Rifles). Shortly after the end of the First World War, it was reformed and renamed the Territorial Army, which today is known as the Army Reserve.
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6m 20s
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).
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2m 00s
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.
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17s
A close up of three Irish women at a table preparing food, most likely for soldiers.
During the First World War era (1914- 1918) the women of Ireland quickly adapted to the many challenges initiated by Britain’s declaration of war against Germany.. The country’s existing network of philanthropic organisations provided a solid foundation for a variety of voluntary war work, from establishing paramilitary organisations like Cumann na mBan, to the mobilisation of working-class women and war refugees in the provision of food parcels and clothes for soldiers.
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33s
This short newsreel shows members of the Red Cross load a presumidly injured man on a stretcher onto the back of an ambulance, the location is not known. A charabanc then leads a procession by regiment of new recruits (dressed in civilian clothes) followed by the ambulance.
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23s
This brief newsreel clip of Dublin 1916 hints at the devastation caused by the 1916 Rising.
The camera slowly pans from Eden Quay, looking down O’Connell Street to Bachelors walk. The bombing of buildings is still evident as smoke can be seen billowing out broken windows and rubble, as people walk about the streets amongst the smouldering debris.
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27s
Red Cross functions were designed to help raise funds for the Red Cross charity and this newsreel shows that they provided a variety of games and entertainment. One game in particular shows a man trying to get into a basket that’s balanced on two poles, he appears to pretend to be severely injured but based on the spectator’s reaction it appears it’s all just for fun.
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2m 04s
This newsreel from April 1916 shows the devastation caused to Dublin city center after the Easter Rising. From the destruction of Liberty Hall at Beresford Place to the collapsing buildings on O’Connell street this is one of the most eye opening newsreels from the Pathé collection highlighting the aftermath of the rebellion.
The 1916 Easter Rising, also known as the Easter Rebellion, 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 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.
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42s
This newsreel from 1916 shows Irish Guards attending the mass service for officers and men of their regiment who have fallen in the war.
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22s
This short newsreel shows the arrival of Lord Wimbourne on a ship to Ireland. The newsreel is intercut with scenes of O’Connell street that were taken prior to the 1916 rising and reused in various other newsreels from the Pathé Collection.
Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne, known as Lord Wimborne from 1914, was a British politician, and one of the last Lords Lieutenant of Ireland, serving in that position at the time of the Easter Rising.
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40s
This newsreel shows a huge crowd filling the streets of Dublin to welcome Countess Constance Markievicz back after her release from prison.
Markievicz is seen standing in a car and waves as is it drives down Westland Row and Brunswick Street, flanked by a mass of people parading alongside her in celebration of her return.
Constance Markievicz, known as Countess Markievicz, was an Irish Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil politician, revolutionary nationalist, suffragette and socialist. A founder member of Fianna Éireann, Cumann na mBan and the Irish Citizen Army, she took part in the Easter Rebellion of 1916where she received a death sentence, but was given amnesty in June 1917 and returned to Ireland the same month.