IFI Irish Film Archive
Requiem Mass
This newsreel from 1916 shows Irish Guards attending the mass service for officers and men of their regiment who have fallen in the war.
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Irish Pigeon Derby
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.
An Irish Solution in View
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.
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).
Terence MacSwiney Laid to Rest
This newsreel shows the final journey for Terence Mac Swiney, who died in Brixton, England on October 25th 1920. His body arrives in Cork at Customs House Quay on October 31st (it was diverted from Dublin to avoid demonstrations). The coffin of Terence McSwiney arrives on the tugboat Mary Tavy into Cork's Custom House Quay. A procession of mourners fill Patrick Street as hordes of people turn up to show their respects. His brother Sean MacSwiney is seen walking alongside the coffin along with his other brother Peter, who is acting as pallbearer. His coffin is carried into the Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne and he is buried at St Finbarr’s Cemetery. Terence James MacSwiney was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He was arrested by the British on charges of sedition and imprisoned in Brixton Prison in England. His death there in October 1920 after 74 days on hunger strike brought him and the Irish struggle to international attention.
Wonderful Western Islanders - 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. 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. This short documentary depicts the lives of the inhabitants of the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway in 1924. This short film, made about ten years before Flaherty’s epic Man of Aran, is probably the earliest surviving film of the islands. It presents a multi-faceted portrait of island life showing locals going about their daily routines: cattle are tied to a curragh and rowed out to a waiting steamship; islanders are photographed by visitors to the island; island men participate in the game of stone throwing (ag caitheamh cloch nirt). A breath-taking sequence shows 4 islandmen roped together and scaling a rugged cliff face. These men were known as cliffmen and may have been trying to catch birds or steal their eggs. While elders are busy battling the elements and rural life, some children express delight at the visiting camera. Aran historian Dr. Deirdre Ni Chonghaile has identified sequences on all three of the Aran Islands Inis Meáin, Inis Oírr and Inis Mór.
Wonderful Western Islanders
This short documentary depicts the lives of the inhabitants of the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway in 1924. The opening title notes: ‘Remote from civilisation, unique in custom, these hardy Arran (sic) islanders eke out an existence from barren and rock-bound soil’. This short film, made about ten years before Flaherty’s epic Man of Aran, is probably the earliest surviving film of the islands. It presents a multi-faceted portrait of island life showing locals going about their daily routines: cattle are tied to a curragh and rowed out to a waiting steamship; rowing islanders are photographed by visitors to the island; island men participate in the game of stone throwing (ag caitheamh cloch nirt). A breath-taking sequence shows 4 islandmen roped together and scaling a rugged cliff face. These men were known as cliffmen and may have been trying to catch birds or steal their eggs. While elders are busy battling the elements and rural life, some children express delight at the visiting camera. 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. Aran historian Dr Deirdre Ni Chonghaile has identified sequences on all three of the Aran Islands Inis Meáin, Inis Oírr and Inis Mór.