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The Gael Linn Collection

Gael Linn was established in 1953 to promote Irish language and culture. Co-founder and first manager, Riobard Mac Góráin, immediately realised the importance of promoting the language through entertainment and popular media. Gael Linn’s initial foray into production was the first regular indigenous cinema newsreel since the Irish Events series of the 1920s.

In 1955 Ernest Blythe, Chairman of Comdhail Naisiunta na Gaelige, lent Gael Linn £100 to produce a short film for cinema and the Amharc Éireann (A View of Ireland) newsreel was born. From 1956 to mid-1957 Amharc Éireann consisted of short single story items that were distributed to cinemas throughout the country on a monthly basis. Their popularity was immediate and by mid-1957 the Rank Film Distributors agreed to supply them to Irish cinemas along with their own newsreel, at which point they became issued on a fortnightly basis. By 1959 the success of this home-grown newsreel resulted in it being produced weekly and it expanded to include 4 separate news stories. The series continued until 1964 when the immediacy of television as a means of relaying news to the Irish population rendered the newsreel obsolete.

Produced by Colm O’Laoghaire, a total of 267 editions of Amharc Éireann were made. Although Gael Linn’s Amharc Éireann production ceased in late 1964 its influence is ongoing. The range of Irish interest subjects covered (from hard news stories to more magazine-like items) provide a vivid window into the development of modern Ireland at a particularly progressive point in its development and provide a first-hand insight into the moral, cultural and economic development of the country throughout the Whittaker and Lemass eras.

Bloomsday ’62 – Amharc Éireann: Eagrán 159

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This edition of Gael Linn’s cinema newsreel records the opening on June 16th 1962 of the James Joyce Museum in Sandycove, Dublin where Joyce had spent time with Oliver St. John Gogarty in 1904. Guest of honour is Sylvia Beach, the American who published Ulysses in 1922 under the imprint of her Paris bookshop, Shakespeare […]

Christmas in the City – Amharc Éireann: Eagrán 237

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In December 1963 Dublin was humming with excitement as crowds gathered in their droves to see the Christmas lights adorn the streets. Henry Street was overflowing with busy shoppers, enticed by the winter wonderland window displays and bargains at the market stalls on Moore Street. Children eagerly waited to meet Santa in his grotto, while […]

Christmas Cards Help World’s Refugees – Amharc Éireann: Eagrán 130

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Oscar-winning actor Dame Margaret Rutherford visited Trinity College in December 1961 to help promote the launch of charity christmas cards. Enterprising students were selling cards depicting famous paintings reproduced with the kind permission of the National Gallery of Ireland.  The proceeds would go towards the Irish Père Pire Refugee Fund. Père Dominique Pire, born in […]

Puss in Boots Panto – Amharc Éireann: Eagrán 83

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The legendary Panto Puss in Boots comes to Our Lady’s Hall, Mourne Road, Drimnagh. This amateur production has the whole community busily involved. Locals from Crumlin and Drimnagh offer their spare time and skills to help production, from acting and costume design to set design, electrics and carpentry. This is a play made by the […]

Dublin Christmas Lights – Amharc Éireann: Eagrán 185

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December 1962 and traffic in Dublin is at a standstill as crowds gather on O’Connell Bridge awaiting Santa’s arrival. Rudolph et al must have been resting for the big night as Santa chose a rather unorthodox method of transport – water skiing his way up the River Liffey to mark the beginning of the festivities. […]

Christmas Day Swim – Amharc Éireann: Eagrán 83

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This newsreel records the annual Dublin Swimming Club Christmas swim, which took place at the Clontarf Baths on a freezing December morning in 1961. The crowd of wrapped-up onlookers cheered on the athletes as they braved the cold waters. The winner Neil Kennedy who was awarded the trophy by Máire Potter. The Clontarf Swimming Club […]

A Wet Christmas in Howth – Amharc Éireann: Eagrán 83

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What better way to spend Christmas Day in 1961 than water skiing in the freezing cold Irish Sea? Mr and Mrs Carr brave the cold waters at Balscadden Bay as onlookers, in awe of this chilly Christmas tradition, cheer them on. Howth and Martello Tower are just visible in the distance. This traditional Christmas swim […]