fbpx
  1. Home
  2. The Irish War of Independence
IFI Archive Player Admin

Wexford Treaty Meeting

Newsreels

The Irish War of Independence

60 Will there be Peace in Ireland_
The Irish Independence Films

Will There Be Peace in Ireland?

IFI Archive Player Admin
In this newsreel Sir James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1921, is seen giving a speech. This event was during the lead up to the treaty negotiations which would culminate to the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December of the same year. Craig was highly critical of Lloyd George’s negotiations with Sinn Féin […]
View
58 Is it Peace_
The Irish Independence Films

Is it Peace?

IFI Archive Player Admin
London, October 11th 1921: Sinn Féin delegates, including  Arthur Griffith, arrive for the first formal peace negotiations at 10 Downing Street. In this newsreel, scenes of the Irish Embassy at 17 Grosvenor Place, London, are depicted with the Irish tricolour flag prominently placed above the main entrance. Crowds are seen kneeling and praying on the […]
View
57 Back from the USA
The Irish Independence Films

Back from the USA

IFI Archive Player Admin
In this newsreel Mary MacSwiney (older sister to Republican Terence MacSwiney) and Harold Boland (Sinn Féin) pose for the camera upon their return from the USA. Mary MacSwiney, T.D., Nationalist and Educationalist, supported the Irish War of Independence in 1919–21. In 1921, after the death of her brother Terence in October 1920, during the height […]
View
Holy Mount
The Irish Independence Films

Ireland’s Holy Mount

IFI Archive Player Admin
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 […]
View
54 I Want Peace
The Irish Independence Films

I Want Peace

IFI Archive Player Admin
In this newsreel, Éamon de Valera arrives in London in July 1921 for discussions on a peace proposal for Ireland with Count George Noble Plunkett, Robert Barton and Arthur Griffith. The first stage in these negotiations was the dispatch of an Irish delegation to London on July 12th. The party consisted of de Valera, Arthur […]
View
53 Is it the Dawn_
The Irish Independence Films

Is it the Dawn?

IFI Archive Player Admin
Éamon de Valera (having previously refused interviews) released this statement to the world exclusively through Topical following truce talks with Lord Middleton between July 4th and 8th 1921. This intertitle-only newsreel is unusual as we see his quote from an extract of the poem Celts and Saxons by poet Thomas Davis. ‘Ireland is fighting solely […]
View
52 Ulster Will Not Yield
The Irish Independence Films

Ulster Will Not Yield

IFI Archive Player Admin
In this newsreel Orangemen march with banners through a crowd-lined street in Belfast to demonstrate their loyalty to Britain on July 12th 1921. Sir James Craig is in attendance and is seen being welcomed onto the platform and addressing the large audience. Craig was highly critical of Lloyd George’s negotiations with Sinn Féin at this […]
View
51 Ulster’s Parliament Assembles
The Irish Independence Films

Ulster’s Parliament Assembles

IFI Archive Player Admin
In this newsreel the Lord Lieutenant, Lord FitzAlan-Howard, and 40 elected Unionist members of Parliament are seen attending the historic opening and first session of the Ulster Parliament in Belfast City Hall on June 7th 1921. Sir James Craig, seen towards the end of this newsreel, was made Prime Minister just a few days before […]
View
50 Coal Strike – Ireland
The Irish Independence Films

Coal Strike – Ireland

IFI Archive Player Admin
This newsreel shows the impact the mining crisis in England (March 1921) had on Ireland. The camera pans across the docks showing boats being held up and coal wharfs empty in the ports. In the aftermath of the First World War, the Triple Alliance (a group made up of railwaymen, transport workers, and coal miners) […]
View
49 American Mission to Ireland
The Irish Independence Films

American Mission to Ireland

IFI Archive Player Admin
This newsreel shows a group of delegates sent from the US Congress to investigate what was happening in Ireland in 1921. They visit villages in rural Ireland and see the devastation caused by the War of Independence, which resulted in partly demolished cottages and burned out houses. This assistance from America was largely the result […]
View
Close