History

1960s-1980s

Irish College Ranafast

24th August 2016

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Father Joe Dunn introduces Ranafast, the Gaeltacht area in the Rosses region of Donegal, telling us: “We hear a lot about the vanishing Irish, the flight from the land, and the depopulation of the Gaeltacht. But the little village has not suffered any depopulation, particularly during the summer months when the famous Irish college is […]

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History

The New Ritual – Radharc

24th August 2016

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In this Radharc documentary, Father Joe Dunn looks at the changes being made to the sacramental rituals of the Roman Catholic Church in 1962. In the 1960s far-reaching alterations in liturgy, theology and ecumenism were promoted by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the laity was given a more central role in church governance. One […]

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History

Men’s Sodality – Radharc

24th August 2016

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In this documentary from 1962, Father Peter Lemass takes to the streets of Dublin to interview ordinary people about life in a large inner-city parish. Fr Lemass discovered that, when membership of the local Men’s Sodality religious group declined, a group of seven men took to the streets to re-engage lapsed members and enlist new […]

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Entertainment

The Colleen Bawn

24th August 2016

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The Colleen Bawn is an ambitious story which evolves from a simple rural tale to a complex narrative of social status, love, murder and deception. The film is inspired by the true events of the 1819 murder of 15 year-old Ellen Scanlan in Co. Clare, and based on the 1860 play of the same name […]

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Entertainment

Bold Emmett, Ireland’s Martyr

24th August 2016

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Irish revolutionary, Robert Emmett, leads a rebellion against British soldiers but his compatriot Con Daly is the true hero of the film. Despite the misspelling of Robert Emmet’s name throughout and some historical inaccuracy (Emmet fought in the rising of 1803 not 1798), the film is typical in its pursuit of authenticity in character and […]

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Drama

You Remember Ellen

24th August 2016

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Adapted by Kalem scenarist Gene Gauntier from the Thomas Moore poem of the same title, You Remember Ellen is a romantic drama of love across the economic divide. A humble, hard-working farmer’s daughter (Gauntier) lives a simple life until she happens upon a handsome young man on a country road. They fall in love, marry […]

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Drama

The Lad From Old Ireland

24th August 2016

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Terry (Sidney Olcott) , a poor Irish farmer, dreams of a better life and is tired of working the land. He decides to head west to build a better, more prosperous future in the USA. He bids farewell to his darling Aileen (Gene Gauntier) but promises he will return to her some day when he […]

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Documentary

Housing Discrimination

22nd August 2016

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Shot in 1953, this film highlighted housing discrimination practiced by the unionist-controlled council in the town of Fintona in County Tyrone. It outlines the inequalities faced by the poorer, and usually nationalist, inhabitants, and details how new council houses are being given to unionist residents who are in less need of the houses than nationalists. […]

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Entertainment

SAFE CYCLING

22nd August 2016

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Cycling through a city can be a stressful experience. This public information film was produced by the National Film Institute (now IFI) for the Department of Local Government. The film made by filmmaker (later archivist) Liam Ó Laoghaire (aka O’Leary) advises on the best cycling practice around busy Dublin streets. This public safety film from […]

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1930s-1960s

Stop Thief (Coisc an Gadaí)

22nd August 2016

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One of a series of dramatised public information films commissioned by the Department of Health and directed here by actor/playwright Gerard Healy. A young Dublin girl becomes gravely ill with diphtheria and her parents are filled with remorse for their failure to immunise her. The aim of this film, commissioned by the Department of Health, […]

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Christmas Crackers

Moonmen

22nd August 2016

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Made by renowned and prolific director of dramas and documentaries, Kieran Hickey, this film shows members of the Half Moon Swimming Club braving the grim winter seas at Dublin’s South Wall in the winter of 1964/65. This was Hickey’s first film and provides the viewer an opportunity to eavesdrop on a moment in time. It […]

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Drama

Faithful Departed

22nd August 2016

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This short documentary draws on the photographs of Robert French from the William Lawrence Collection held in the National Library. The photos illustrate the Dublin of 1904 which served as a backdrop to James Joyce’s Ulysses. Directed in 1968 by renowned drama and documentary maker Kieran Hickey, the film traces Joyce’s childhood and adolescence, his […]

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