IFI Irish Film Archive
An advertisement for Valley Ice Cream, encouraging people to get their next ice cream pop from ‘the big red fridge’. Featuring all the favourites, including Choc Ice. Valley Ice Cream was based in Thurles, Co Tipperary, and closed in 1997.
This newsreel shows a steamship carrying crates of pigeons arriving in Dublin in 1937 for the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes Pigeon Derby. The crates of birds are unloaded at the Dublin docks , and transported to the Croppies Accre (Collins Barracks), Dublin.. As the excitement builds, crowds gather and people in fancy dress (some dressed as pigeons) stand ready to release the birds. Signs show what clubs the birds have come from – many in the UK. , and the sky fills as the birds are released and scatter to find their bearings. Afterwards, Dublin’s Lord Mayor Alfred (Alfie) Byrne and an unnamed young woman receive gifts of pigeon eggs from a girl dressed in a pigeon suit. The Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstake was a lottery established in the Irish Free State in 1930 - with tickets sold as far afield as the UK and US - to finance hospitals and medical services. 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.
This Mermaid Films tribute documentary directed by Sé Merry Doyle explores the life and work of renowned Irish painter and architect Patrick Scott. Taking Scott’s major retrospective at the Hugh Lane Gallery in 2002 as a starting point, this lively account traces the artist’s childhood, his background in architecture and his many artistic achievements. Scott’s zest for life and humble reflections on the creative process accompany moving moments at home with his cat whilst working on his signature gold leaf paintings. A fascinating account of the 1950s bohemian art group the White Stag and contributions from Seamus Heaney, Stephen Pearce and Dorothy Walker enrich this celebration of the life and work of the ‘Golden Boy’ of Irish art. Patrick Scott: Golden Boy was produced by Maria Doyle Kennedy and Andrea Pitt, of Mermaid Films, and was commissioned by RTÉ Arts Lives. Patrick Scott was born in 1921 in Kilbrittain, Co Cork. He began his career as an architect where he worked with Michael Scott on CIE’s Busáras before committing to life as a full-time painter in the 1960s. He won a National Prize at the Guggenheim International Award in 1960 and represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale in the same year. His paintings have been exhibited worldwide and his work features in public and private collections.
June 1922 and both pro and anti-Treaty members are addressing a crowd of people and handing out leaflets, on what appears to be Townsend Street, Dublin, encouraging them to support and vote for a coalition government in the coming elections. Following the Battle of the Four Courts by anti-Treaty Republicans, Éamon de Valera and Michael Collins agreed that the up and coming elections should be fought together by the pro and anti-Treaty forces by forming a coalition government. On June 16th 1922 the Anglo-Irish Treaty was approved by the Irish people by a vote of 73% but the anti-Treaty forces reneged on their promise and the coalition was not formed.
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.
This short film explores how the Grand Canal in Dublin has changed over the years. The voiceover provided by Irish novelist, short story writer and humourist John D. Sheridan, notes how methods of transport have changed and how fewer boats and barges now use the waterway. The aural memories are illustrated by poetic footage of the canal in the 1960s. The director, Margaret Currivan, won first prize for Up the Canal in the 'Film Shows Cup’ at the 1961 Dublin Amateur Cine Society competition (a competition predominantly entered by male filmmakers at the time). Margaret Currivan (b. 1923) was an avid amateur filmmaker, most prolific from 1954 to 1966. Currivan had a keen interest in photography and co-owned Currivan's Photographic Services in Dublin with her husband, Patrick Joseph (PJ). The shop processed and sold film, projectors, cameras and equipment and the filmmaker would, therefore, have had access to equipment, supplies and quick processing. Her films chronicle the story of her family, PJ and children Helen, Dan, and Paddy, engaged in key events including birthdays, Christmases and holidays. Currivan sometimes appears in her films, alluding to partial recording made by PJ. However, the shots are few and authorship is retained by Currivan who is noted to have also meticulously edited her films using a manual reel-to-reel device and splicer.