IFI Irish Film Archive

An Irish Solution in View

Year1916 Duration1m 20s

This newsreel shows Irish Parliamentary Party leader John Redmond speaking at a mass rally (1912 – 1915, location unknown). John Redmond addressed huge crowds wherever he went, informing them aboutthe Home Rule Bill. He was considered the undisputed leader in Ireland until 1916. Halfway through the newsreel a clip of Edward Carson is shown, the was the leader of the Irish Union Alliance and Ulster Unionist Party. The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of World War I.

Large crowds gather on the streets of Dublin as Ireland’s first President, Dr. Douglas Hyde, is installed. This newsreel from 1938 depicts the military procession that leads Douglas Hyde past the Grand Central Cinema and the GPO on O’Connell Street, Dublin to the Phoenix Park where he is to be installed as President of Ireland. When he arrives at Áras an Uachtaráin he is greeted by Eamon de Valera, Prime Minister, and Seán T O’Kelly, Tánaiste who would succeed Hyde as President in 1945. Áras an Uachtaráin was built in 1751 in Phoenix Park, Dublin. It had been acquired for use by the Viceroys who oversaw British rule in Ireland until 1922 but became the President of Ireland’s official home in 1938. 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.

18s

Arrival of Sir Edward Carson

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.

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).

2m 04s

Sinn Féin Rising Liberty Hall Part 1

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.

3m 29s

Wexford Commemorations

Nationalists from all over Ireland pay tribute to the memory of the late Mr. John Redmond who passed away March 6th 1918.in this newsreel. A portrait of Redmond can been seen on the wall of the cemetery on the corner of John’s Gate Street, Wexford Town. A procession of mourners gather in front of it and a procession of men on horseback ride past holding their hats to their chests.The final segment of this newsreel shows son of John Redmond, Captain William Redmond seen in a bowler hat, look over the crowd of people who have gathered at the Redmond monument at the square in Wexford town. John Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and M.P. in the British House of Commons. He was best known as leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) from 1900 until his death in 1918. He was also leader of the paramilitary organisation the Irish National Volunteers (INV).

55s

Rebirth of a Nation

This newsreel shows British troops unpacking lorries at the docks (Possibly Dublin Port) and leaving Ireland, following the Anglo-Irish War. The interesting aspect of this footage is that it shows that British troops did not all leave immediately after the signing of The Treaty. Here they are departing in the middle of the Civil War in December 1922. Tim Healy, Veteran Irish Patriot, can be seen towards the end of the newsreel. Tim Healy was an Irish nationalist politician, journalist, author, barrister and one of the most controversial Irish Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and Ireland. His political career began in the 1880s under Charles Stewart Parnell’s leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and continued into the 1920s, when he was the first Governor-General of the Irish Free State.