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The St. Patrick’s Day Collection

Excerpt from ‘The Callahans and the Murphys’

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This excerpt from the 1927 MGM film The Callahans and the Murphys was believed to be lost. The silent comedy film, adapted from a novel by Kathleen Norris, stars Marie Dressler and Polly Moran and tells the story of two feuding Irish immigrant families living in a tenement. When the film was released, it caused […]

Hail Glorious Saint Patrick

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A meticulous record of the Patrician Year 1961, a year of religious celebration loosely marking 1,500 years of devotion to St. Patrick in Ireland. The film features the visit of Papal Legate Cardinal Gregorio Pietro Agagianian to Ireland where he is greeted by President Éamon de Valera, Taoiseach Seán Lemass and Archbishop John Charles McQuaid. […]

Songs of the Emerald Isle

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This short film presents five much-loved Irish airs and ballads against a backdrop of the Irish landscape. Bing Crosby sings How Can you Buy Killarney? (from his St Patrick’s Day Parade album), John Feeney sings The Connemara Shore and Connie Foley sings Lovely Leitrim. These songs of yearning and nostalgia are illustrated with images of Irish Travellers, fishermen, foresters and farmers, ancient monuments, rich […]

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 […]

Ireland’s Holy Mount

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This footage captures a pilgrimage to Ireland’s Holy Mount, Croagh Patrick, from 1921 where thousands of people toil over bog and boulders to reach the summit and pray for peace. Croagh Patrick is a 764 metre-high mountain and an important site of pilgrimage in County Mayo, Ireland. It is the third highest mountain in County […]

Saint Patrick’s Day – 1917

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This newsreel set in London shows the Lord Mayor of London arriving at Saint Patrick’s Church. It is the celebration for Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and Irish women are seen selling flags in the street to passersby. These women were most likely collecting for charitable organisations, like the London Irish Benevolent Society, […]

Saint Patrick’s Day – 1916

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This newsreel was filmed on St Patrick’s Day 1916. Mrs. Tredennick presents shamrock pins to the officers of the 18th Battalion London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) at the Duke of York’s Headquarters in Chelsea. The London Irish Rifles (LIR) was a volunteer rifle regiment of the British army. From 1908 to 1920, the London Irish […]

Discovering Ireland

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This tourism promotional film was produced in 1982 by Bord Fáilte (now known as Fáilte Ireland) and presents Ireland and its rich history as an attractive holiday destination. From the bustling streets of Dublin during the St Patrick’s Day Parade, to the serene calm of the River Shannon, this film, directed by Louis Marcus, shows […]

Ireland in Spring

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Ireland is beautiful all-year-round but spring is when it really blossoms. Produced by Colm O’ Laoghaire (director of the Amharc Éireann newsreels for Gael-Linn) this film is a celebration of all things Irish and a delightful window on 1950s Eire. The film focuses on An Tóstal (Irish for “The Pageant”) which was a series of […]