Documentary

Documentary

Reflections – Ireland

11th October 2019

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Reflections – Ireland is a stunning, non-narrated tourist film with accompanying music by Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains. Many of Paddy Carey films depict a scarcity of civilisation, an untouched landscape, but here he treats the viewer to the beauties of landscape interwoven with a vivid tapestry of human activity: anglers in a lively river; […]

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Documentary

Waves

11th October 2019

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Waves is a visually breathtaking film about the power of the sea. Capturing the Atlantic Ocean in various moods as it crashes against the Irish coasts, the film is a hymn to the relentless power and endless beauty of this elemental force of nature. With coastal scenes harking back to the majesty of Flaherty’s Man […]

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Documentary

Oisín

11th October 2019

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In Irish legend, Oisín, son of Celtic warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill, was a warrior, a bard and a poet. This lyrical film opens with a quotation from Irish mythology where Oisín describes Irish birdsong as ‘the sweetest in the world’ and urges us to ‘stop and listen!’ What follows is a stunning, non-narrated depiction of […]

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Documentary

Mists of Time

11th October 2019

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Mists of Time is a poetic, visual portrait of the mythology surrounding Ireland’s megalithic tombs and standing stones. The monumental dolmen and passage graves of Ireland, once burial grounds from the Late Stone Age, are depicted alongside tales of the pagan Halloween festival, Samhain. Dramatic cinematography depicting sunsets and tombs at the Burren, Country Clare, […]

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Documentary

Wonderful Western Islanders

4th June 2019

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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 […]

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Documentary

Looking On

16th April 2019

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Summer, Dublin, 1982: A collective of community activists resist the housing and urban redevelopment of the north inner-city. This largely observational documentary charts the Looking On Festival through theatre, U2 musical performances and off-the-cuff interviews with Joe Duffy, Peter Sheridan, a young Tony Gregory, Pat Kenny and Thom ‘The Diceman’ McGinty. The gatekeepers of the […]

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Documentary

Patrick Scott: Golden Boy

15th April 2019

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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 […]

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Documentary

Mairéad Farrell: An Unfinished Conversation

12th April 2019

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This Loopline documentary investigates the life and death of Mairéad Farrell who, in 1988, was shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar along with two other unarmed members of the IRA. The violent killing of the three was one of the most controversial incidents during the Northern Ireland Troubles and provoked an international outcry. Bríona […]

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Documentary

Essie’s Last Stand

22nd February 2019

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It’s Dublin, 1999, and 76 year old Essie Keeling, Georgie her dog and her neighbour Karl Byrne are fighting eviction by property developers and homelessness. This timely, inspiring story of determination and resistance offers a crucial lens through which to view Dublin’s current housing crisis. Despite her age and ill health, the lovable Essie is […]

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Documentary

Patrick Kavanagh: No Man’s Fool

22nd February 2019

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Sé Merry Doyle’s award-winning Patrick Kavanagh: No Man’s Fool is a rich visual journey, exposing the contradiction that existed between Kavanagh’s public persona and his poetry. The film maps out Kavanagh’s life from his native Inniskeen in County Monaghan, to Dublin where he spent most of his life. Against the odds he survived great poverty […]

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Documentary

James Gandon: A Life

22nd February 2019

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This Loopline documentary follows the life of  architect, James Gandon, whose plans were realised when Ireland operated under British colonial rule. James Gandon (1743–1823) is recognised today as one of the leading architects to have worked in Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century. His neo-classical buildings still dominate Dublin’s urban landscape, […]

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Amateur

Belleek, An Enduring Heritage

10th July 2018

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This award-winning documentary on Belleek pottery was made jointly by filmmakers Roy Spence and J.J Tohill. Narrated by RTÉ newsreader Cyril Smith, this stunning documentary highlights the talent and craftsmanship that goes into each and every single piece of fine china and the generations of skilled artisans who create these works of art. Roy Spence […]

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