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Newsreels Part 2

An introduction to the Irish Free State

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Brenda Malone, Curator of Military History at The National Museum of Ireland, introduces the Irish Free State, emerging from the violence and destruction of the War of Independence. 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 […]

St. Patrick’s Country

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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 […]

The Causeway of the Giants

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The majestic Giant’s Causeway, Co. Antrim, takes centre stage in this film from the Pathétone 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 […]

Legend of the Lough

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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 […]

Irish Republic Proclaimed

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This newsreel shows enthusiastic celebrations on the streets of Dublin as legislation creating the Irish Republic is passed. On 18th April 1949, The Republic of Ireland Act came into force. It declared that Ireland may officially be described as the Republic of Ireland and that the President of Ireland had the executive authority of the […]

Ennis

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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 […]

Along the Line

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This 1931 film from the Pathé Pictorial cinemagazine series features the Lartigue Monorail, running from Listowel to Ballybunion, Co Kerry. The steam-powered monorail (originally designed by Frenchman Charles Lartigue) operated from 1888 to 1924 and carried passengers, livestock and freight. In this newsreel we can see how the monorail rides along supported A-shaped trestles. Footage […]

President of Éire

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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. […]

Gaol For a Kiss

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This newsreel features a laughing Julia Clarke who fled Ireland after being sentenced to one month in gaol for kissing her boyfriend. Julia Clarke, from Glasgow, was sentenced by Dundalk Court for kissing her boyfriend on church property at Blackrock, Co. Louth. According to a news article at the time, ‘the local vigilance committee was […]

Irish Pigeon Derby

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This newsreel shows a steamship carrying crates of pigeons arriving in Dublin in 1937 for the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes Pigeon Derby. The crates of birds are unloaded at the Dublin docks, and transported to the Croppies Accre (Collins Barracks), Dublin. As the excitement builds, crowds gather and people in fancy dress (some dressed as pigeons) […]

Mr. Alfred Lord Mayor of Dublin

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In this sound newsreel the Lord Major of Dublin, Alfred (Alfie) Byrne, discusses Anglo-Irish relations and the prospect of a United Ireland in this speech from 1936. Seated comfortably in an armchair in a garden and wearing his mayoral chain of office,  Mayor Alfie Byrne assures Pathé Gazette viewers that there is no serious animosity […]