IFI Irish Film Archive

Ulster’s Gallant Woman Admiral

Year1922 Duration56s ProducerTopical Film Company

Dramatic footage of Mrs. Laverton (Hazel Valerie West), owner and pilot of the steam-yacht “The Lady of the Lake” (renamed “HMS Pandora“), which was pressed into service during the rescue operations following the Battle of Pettigo. She was hailed by the newspapers in Britain some days later as the pistol-wearing “Ulster Admiral“ The Battle of Pettigo and Belleek in the summer of 1922 was the largest military engagement between the Irish Republican Army and the British Occupation Forces in Ireland since theEaster Rising of 1916, and one of the last significant actions in the island nation’s War of Independence.

This newsreel is a compilation of events that happened in Ireland between 1916 and 1922. The order of the events is not presented sequentially but it gives a glimpse of the level of military presence and destruction in Ireland (predominantly Dublin city) during this time. The first segment shows British soldiers leaving Athlone Barracks following its takeover by General Sean MacEoin in the summer of 1922. Following this, soldiers are shown setting up barbed wire fences near City Hall, Dublin,and then in Dun Laoghaire horses are being groomed near Martello Tower. In the last segment, circa 1916, the devastating impact the Easter Rising had on O’Connell Street is shown, the destruction of many buildings can been seen as the camera slowly pans the main thoroughfare as pedestrians wander around the street. A shot of the first issue of ‘Irish War News’ can be seen, displaying the date April 25th 1916, this was printed in the GPO by Drogheda businessman Joe Stanley.

1m 13s

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.

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).

12m 45s

Irish Revolution - 1922

This lengthy newsreel highlights some key moments in the Irish Civil War from troops revolting in Limerick, to the destruction of Sackville street in Dublin. The Irish Civil War (June 28th 1922 –May 24th 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Empire. The Civil War was waged between two opposing groups, Irish Republicans and Irish Nationalists, over the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The forces of the Provisional Government (which became the Free State in December 1922) supported the Treaty, while the Republican opposition saw it as a betrayal of the Irish Republic (which had been proclaimed during the Easter Rising). Many of those who fought on both sides in the conflict had been members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the War of Independence.

12m 45s

Irish Revolution 1922

46s

Irish National Army Sweeping On

In this newsreel scenes of fighting in Limerick are shown, with National Army men firing field guns and rifles in the open countryside and Lancia armoured cars and Omnibuses parked outside a burnt-out with a partially painted out sign “Vote Sinn Féin IRA..” The Battle of Kilmallock took place between July 25th and August 5th 1922 in County Limerick. It was one of the largest engagements of the Irish Civil War. It consisted of ten days of fighting in the countryside round Kilmallock in County Limerick, in which Irish Free State Army forces, advancing south from Limerick city, found their path blocked by anti-Treaty IRA troops, dug into a number of villages at Bruff, Bruree and Patrickswell. The fighting ended with the retreat of the anti-Treaty fighters and the occupation of Kilmallock by Free State forces.