IFI Irish Film Archive
Introduction: President Cosgrave
Duration1m 24s
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Free State or Republic
Scenes of Polling stations at the Irish general election are shown in this newsreel, where the main issue being voted on was whether the country should remain as a Free State or become a full Republic – the goal of de Valera’s Fianna Fáil party. Crowds of people gather on Marlborough Street and Free state soldiers stand guard at the exterior of a polling station. Inside, men are seen distributing ballots as the count progresses. General Richard Mulcahy, Minister for Defence is returned. At Stephen’s Green Mrs Charlotte Despard, noted republican and suffragette stands and speaks to camera. Ms Despard was sister of former Viceroy Lord French and president of the Women’s Freedom League. Final intertitle introduces young Vivian (sic properly Vivion) de Valera, son of Eamon. Richard Mulcahy was an army general and commander-in-chief for the Irish Republican Army. He later served in the cabinets of W. T. Cosgrave and John A. Costello. He fought in the 1916 Easter Rising, served as Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence and became commander of the pro-treaty forces in the Irish Civil War after the death of Michael Collins. The uniform of General Mulcahy’s from 1922 is currently held by the National Museum of Ireland.
Introduction - Trish McAdam Filmmaker Playlist
Our second IFI Filmmaker Playlist is curated by filmmaker and visual artist Trish McAdam. Since the production of her early shorts in the 1980s, Trish has created a vibrant and varied body of work, embracing a range of forms and subjects and retaining a singular, independent voice. Snakes and Ladders (1997), her debut feature, was one of the first Irish films directed by a woman about contemporary women’s lives, and she continued to position women squarely on screen with her ground-breaking documentary series, Hoodwinked: Irish Women Since the 1920s. Her interest in other artists is evident in her documentary profiles of Leo O’Kelly, Donal O’Kelly and Liu Xiabo. She has recently explored new modes of storytelling in her formally exciting short films Strangers to Kindness (2015) and Confinement (2019). We’re delighted to welcome Trish to the Irish Film Institute to select her top picks from films preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive and presented on the IFI Archive Player. Trish approached the IFI Archive Player looking to discover some hidden gems showing an alternative Irish character. Her choices can be broken down into three eras: early representations of Ireland on film (1910s – 1920s); changing culture in Ireland (1950s – 1970s); and contemporary Irish filmmaking (1980s – 2000s). The wide-ranging selection, in her own words ‘not so much a tip of an iceberg, as a scattering within the iceberg,’ is free to watch on the IFI Archive Player anywhere in the world.
Introduction - Lenny Abrahamson
Our inaugural playlist, curated by director Lenny Abrahamson - renowned for his multi-Academy Award nominated Room (2015) and acclaimed independent films like Adam & Paul (2004), Garage (2007), What Richard Did (2012) and Frank (2014) - visits the Irish Film Institute to select his top picks of materials preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive from the IFI Player. The films he has selected - from early stop-motion playfulness in Clock Tower Animation (1910s) to homemade sci-fi/horror by cinema-enthusiasts the Spence twins - span decades and counties, but all demonstrate a fascination and experimentation with film and story-telling that informs his unique way of seeing the world.
A Million People Kneel in Worship
The Eucharistic Congress, one of the largest public events to ever take place in Ireland, occurred between the 22nd and 26th of June 1932. As part of the 31st Congress clergy and lay people from all over the world came to celebrate the ‘Holy Eucharist’ in Dublin. The vast scale of the final Congress mass was filmed by many Irish and international filmmakers and newsagencies and showcased the piety of the Irish people. A large crowd gather to pray at Phoenix Park, Dublin, as Michael Joseph Curley, Archbishop of Baltimore begins a mass service. At O’Connell Bridge, on a specially erected altar, Papal Legate, Cardinal Lauri gives benediction. O’Connell Street is thronged with people and political figures Éamon de Valera, newly elected president of the executive council, and Minister Seán T. O’Kelly join the devotions. 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.
Irish Republic Proclaimed
This newsreel shows enthusiastic celebrations on the streets of Dublin as legislation creating the Irish Republic is passed. On 18th April 1949, The Republic of Ireland Act came into force. It declared that Ireland may officially be described as the Republic of Ireland and that the President of Ireland had the executive authority of the state in its external relations. This momentous event in Irish history is documented in this newsreel from with a collection of dignitaries including President Seán T O’Kelly and his wife, Lord Mayor of Dublin John Breen, Maud Gonne and Éamon de Valera, arriving at St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Dublin, for the ceremony. Crowds of people gather on O’Connell Street as the Irish Republic flag is hoisted and a salute is fired on top of the GPO. Celebrations continue as the Irish Army march by, along with Irish pipers, howitzers and armoured cars. 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.
President of Éire
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.