Collection
The Father Delany Collection
14 items
Father Jack Delany was born in 1906 and died in 1980. He was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s.
In the 1930s Fr Delany was assigned to the north inner city parish which included Gloucester Street (now Seán MacDermott Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. It was an impoverished neighbourhood of densely populated tenements. Father Delany grew up in a middle-class family and had great admiration for residents of the inner-city, particularly admiring their sense of community and resilience in the face of hardship. His parishioners are the subject of many of his films and his films of tenement life provide us with a fascinating glimpse of life in 1930s inner city Dublin. These scenes include children playing in rubble, stall holders, clothes drying on the balconies of flats and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
Father Delany’s niece Irene Devitt, along with her late husband John Devitt, deposited Fr Delaney’s film collection with the IFI Irish Film Archive in the 1990s.
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1m 17s
This short amateur film by Father Delany shows powerful waves crashing over the harbour walls on a stormy evening in Dun Laoghaire. A small group of people gather dangerously close to the edge as the boats and buoys rock erratically in the distance. One gentleman can be seen making a dash for it to avoid a nasty soaking.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly in Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His images of trips with his parishoners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and scenes within the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent which housed a Magdalene Laundry provide us with a fascinating glimpse of life in inner city Dublin in the 1930s.
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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2m 08s
In this film, Father Delany captures a group of children dressed in their finest outfits, proudly walking down an inner city Dublin street on their way to First Holy Communion. A crowd gathers at the railings of the church to see the event and wave at the camera.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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2m 51s
This amateur film by Father Jack Delaney shows hundreds of members of the inner city parish around Gloucester Street participating in the annual Corpus Christi procession, a Roman Catholic ritual celebrating the Eucharist.
Traditionally all Catholic parishioners attended. In Father Delaney’s film we see children in their first holy communion and other religious attire. This is an invaluable, heavily-populated record of the community as they proceed through the streets of their parish
Father Jack Delaney (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly in Sean McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His images of trips with his parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and scenes within the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent which housed a Magdalene Laundry provide us with a fascinating glimpse of life in inner city Dublin in the 1930s.
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2m 18s
Summer, Killiney, South County Dublin: The CBS sports day is in full swing. A band plays and participants compete in boxing, cycling and a sack race as crowds cheer from the stands. It’s clear that a fun day was had by all.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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2m 54s
This film shows a group of people playing card games in a sunny back garden of a family home. Card and board games, such as bridge and dominoes, would have been popular in 1930s Dublin.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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31s
A newlywed couple board the TSS Cambria II in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. They bid farewell to their loved ones and set sail for Holyhead, Wales.
The Twin Screw Steamer, Cambria, serviced the Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead route from 1921 to 1948 until it was replaced with the motor vessel Cambria.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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1m 36s
This short amateur film shows a trip to Killiney Hill, Co Dublin, on a beautiful sunny day. The Obelisk stands proudly on the hilltop with views of the Wicklow Mountains in the distance. A boat trip takes us from Bullock Harbour past the beautiful Sorrento Terrace and towards Dalkey Island.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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3m 10s
This short film shows a delightful visit to West Cork. The holidaymakers (friends of Father Delany) relax in the garden of Casey’s Hotel, take a boat trip, bathe in the sea and join in an impromptu group singalong and a spur-of-the-moment dance.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
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2m 51s
This rare footage shows gentlemen (who appear to be Christian Brothers) playing croquet and relaxing in their spare time.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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1m 29s
This beautifully shot footage dates from the 1930s and depicts children at play featuring fine costumes and a dressed stage that would rival many professional productions. It’s one of the many gems from the Father Delaney Collection.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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7m 05s
Gloucester Street (which became Seán McDermott Street in 1933) is alive with activity: children play and grapple for the camera’s attention; teachers play school yard games with students and women reluctantly pose for camera. Moments in time are captured in a heavily-populated, inner-city Dublin neighbourhood. The tenement dwellings here were later demolished after Dublin Corporation purchased them in 1941.
An early rooftop scene shows the façade of Rutland Street National School in the distance. The schoolyard scenes show the boys and girls of Rutland Street National school at play with their teachers. Thirty years later, in the 1960s, the voices of the Rutland Street school children were recorded by their teacher Peg Cunningham. These recordings inspired and provide the sound track for Brown Bag’s Give Up Your Aul Sins.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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9m 23s
One of the most notable of Father Delaney’s films was made on the grounds of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent and features a Magdalene Laundry (which closed its doors in 1999).
In the film we see nuns and residents playing games in the garden, as well as dancing and performing in a play. Although the film is short, it is the most extensive footage known to have been filmed inside a Magdalene Laundry. These institutions were mostly run by Roman Catholic orders and operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries. Many of the residents were classed as ‘fallen’ women and an estimated 30,000 women were confined as punishment and against their will in such institutions in Ireland. The footage shows what the residents wore, how they played, how they related to each other, the nuns and to the filmmaker.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission from Father Delany’s niece, Irene Devitt, and facilitation by the IFI Irish Film Archive access officers, this film has been used many times by contemporary filmmakers to illustrate life within a Magdalene institution.
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53s
Navan Road, Dublin, 1948: A family gathers outside their home for an impromptu game of tennis. This rare footage depicts how rural this part of the city was before being developed.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.
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1m 16s
Father Delany’s lens captures a school visit to Dublin Zoo. The highlight is a visit to the elephant enclosure where the Zookeeper demonstrates how to mount the elephant like a horse.
Father Jack Delany (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).
With kind permission of Irene Devitt.