IFI Irish Film Archive

The Causeway of the Giants

Year1935 Duration1m 40s ProducerBritish Pathé

The majestic Giant’s Causeway, Co. Antrim, takes centre stage in this film from the Pathetone Weekly cinemagazine from 1935. A man clambers on some of the 37,000 basalt rock columns as a narrator describes the location as one of the ‘wonders of the world’. Most of the rocks are hexagonal in shape but there is one octagonal rock is known as the Keystone . Good fortune awaits those who sit in the Wishing Chair or drink from the Wishing Well. The narrator tells the legend of how an Irish giant built the causeway while trying to get to Scotland to fight a rival. He then adds how ‘it is probably really formed by volcanic action’ and is “one of the most superb rock formations in the world”. 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 short travelogue, part of the Pathetone Weekly cinemagazine, features the scenic landscapes of Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. Stunning footage of the ‘earthly paradise’ includes the upper and lower lakes, the majestic round tower, St. Kevin’s Church, and a ruined monastery. The narrator tells the story of St. Kevin – an Irish saint who lived very primitively in a cave by the lake in the 6th century. Facts are sprinkled with anecdotes: ‘A young woman enamoured with the holy man once visited him, only to meet with his displeasure. Indeed, he would have none of her and pushed her into the water.’ Tourists still flock to Glendalough to experience the spectacular scenery, rich history, archaeology and abundant wildlife. 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.

3m 39s

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.

1m 36s

St. Patrick's Country

The story of the Irish patron Saint, Patrick is explored through footage of his adopted homeland in picturesque Northern Ireland. This 1935 film from the Pathe Pictorial cinemagazine series depicts the village of Raholp, Co. Down, where St. Patrick grew up. The narrator tells how very little has changed in the sleepy village since the saint’s childhood – a man thatches the roof of a cottage, a woman fetches water from a well, children feed calves, a farmer herds cattle and a young boy walks with a goat along the road to Saul, where St. Patrick first preached Christianity in Ireland. Downpatrick Cathedral features next; where legend has it, St. Patrick is buried. 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.

2m 30s

Ennis

A study of the sleepy village of Ennis, Co. Clare, in the 1940s and how Shannon Airport affected daily life in the locality. While Pathé’s lens focuses on primitive thatched cottages, a narrator describes how Ennis ‘clings to the old ways of life’. A young boy fills a bucket from a street pump and the voiceover tells how ‘water for a wash or a drink still means a long walk for someone’. Shannon Airport is only sixteen miles away and the locals have noticed a change. Cars, once a rare sight in the village, now ‘disturb the peace and quiet’ and hold up traffic on narrow country lanes. 23-year-old hotelier Josette O’Regan, however, anticipated the rise of footfall and marketed The Old Ground Hotel to tourists and airlines. 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.

35s

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.

11m 51s

Irish Co-operative Gathers Peat

In this 1920s newsreel, an Irish co-operative digs, stacks and gathers turf. It is an activity involving the whole community - even the local priest is involved in overseeing the sacks of turf loaded onto a barge before being transported by canal. The crew work tirelessly to load a barge. ‘Rathangan’ is inscribed on the side of the barge and a man waves an ‘Up Kildare’ flag in shot. The turf is possibly extracted from the Bog of Allen – a large, raised bogland stretching over 5 counties in Ireland. In the 19th and early 20th century, non-agriculturally viable bogland was Ireland’s primary indigenous fuel resource. It is estimated that 6 million tonnes of sod turf was produced in 1921. In Ireland today a focus has shifted to a more environment-friendly energy production and there has been an attempt to restore Irish boglands. 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.