Amharc Éireann: A View of Ireland Trailer

Amharc Éireann: A View of Ireland, available now on the IFI Archive Player. To view the entire collection and search the new interactive map, please visit Amharc Éireann: A View of Ireland in the collections tab. Gael Linn was established in 1953 to promote and revitalise Irish language and culture through a variety of means – which would eventually include music, film and educational initiatives. A most successful and accessible early venture was the establishment in 1956 of the Amharc Éireann newsreel, the first regular indigenous cinema newsreel since the Irish Events series of the 1920s.  The series was seeded in 1955 when Ernest Blythe, then Chairman of Comdháil Násiúnta na Gaelige (the national Irish language council), lent Gael Linn £100 to produce a short film for cinema. This “pilot” would become the first of a long-running newsreel series – Gael Linn’s Amharc Éireann. From 1956 to mid-1957, the series consisted of short single-story films that were distributed to cinemas throughout the country on a monthly basis. Their popularity was immediate, and by 1959 the series had evolved into a more traditional newsreel with each issue containing three or four separate stories from around the country. The series continued until 1964, when the immediacy of television as a means of delivering daily news to the Irish public lead to a marked decline in the relevance and popularity of the cinema newsreel.  A total of 267 editions of the Amharc Éireann series were produced. The key production team comprised: Colm Ó Laoghaire (producer); Vincent Corcoran and Jim Mulkerns (camera); Peter Hunt (sound); Breandán Ó hEithir and Máirtín Ó Cadhain (scriptwriter); Pádraic Ó Raghallaigh (voiceover) and Gerard Victory (composer). Other crew members included George Morrisson, Nick O’Neill, Val Ennis and Morgan O’Sullivan.   Although Gael Linn’s Amharc Éireann production ceased in late 1964, its impact on Irish cultural identity still resonates today. The range of Irish interest subjects covered (from hard news stories to magazine-style items) provides vivid snapshots of the rapid development of modern Ireland during a particularly progressive period under the stewardship of T.K. Whitaker, Secretary of the Department of Finance, and Taoiseach Seán Lemass.  Economic and industrial progress is documented through a broad array of stories such as the introduction of innovative prefabrication in schools; the opening of a chewing gum factory; and the launch of Ireland’s first oil-fired power-station. Urban development is seen in the demolition of the Theatre Royal and the old Abbey Theatre, and the building of the Adelphi Cinema. International visitors such as Louis Armstrong, Margaret Rutherford and Princess Grace are captured, while ordinary folk enjoy ploughing championships, fleadhanna cheoil, sporting events, ballroom dancing, hunting, shooting and lovely legs competitions.  IFI is delighted to present 250 stories from the Amharc Éireann series, with the support and partnership of Gael Linn and our app provider, Axonista. Viewers are invited to explore the collection, search using our new interactive map or browse by decade to reveal stories connected to places of personal or historical significance. The films in the Amharc Éireann collection provide a visual record of Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s.   The films reflect the sensibility and sensitivities of the periods in which they were made.  The commentary within some of the films may include language and attitudes which were prevalent and socially acceptable at the time of production but which may less so by today’s more enlightened standards.   Irish subtitles and descriptions kindly provided by Gael Linn, with thanks to Réamonn Ó Ciaráin, Eve Nic an Phapa, Jane O’Connor, and Máire Harris.  Bunaíodh Gael Linn sa bhliain 1953 chun an teanga agus an cultúr Gaelach a chur chun cinn agus a athbheochan trí réimse bealaí – lena n-áirítear ceol, scannáin agus tionscnaimh oideachais de réir a chéile. Ba é bunú nuachtríleanna Amharc Éireann sa bhliain 1956 an chéad nuachtríl dhúchasach rialta do phictiúrlanna ó Irish Events sna 1920idí. Bhí Amharc Éireann ar cheann de na tionscadail luatha ba rathúla agus ab inrochtana de chuid Gael Linn ag an am. Cuireadh tús leis an tsraith sa bhliain 1955 nuair a thug Ernest Blythe, Cathaoirleach Chomhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge (comhairle náisiúnta na Gaeilge) £100 ar iasacht do Gael Linn chun gearrscannán a léiriú don phictiúrlann. Ba é an “píolóta” seo an chéad cheann de shraith fhada nuachtríleanna – Amharc Éireann de chuid Gael Linn. Ó 1956 go lár 1957, bhíodh scannáin ghearra aon-scéil sa tsraith a dháiltí ar phictiúrlanna ar fud na tíre gach mí. Bhí an-tóir orthu láithreach, agus faoi 1959 bhí an tsraith tagtha chun cinn ina nuachtscannán seachtainiúil níos traidisiúnta agus de ghnáth bhíodh trí nó ceithre scéal ar leith ó gach cearn den tír i ngach eagrán. Lean an tsraith ar aghaidh go dtí 1964, nuair a tháinig laghdú suntasac