President of Éire

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. When he arrives at Áras an Uachtaráin he is greeted by Eamon de Valera, Prime Minister, and Seán T O’Kelly, Tánaiste who would succeed Hyde as President in 1945. Áras an Uachtaráin was built in 1751 in Phoenix Park, Dublin. It had been acquired for use by the Viceroys who oversaw British rule in Ireland until 1922 but became the President of Ireland’s official home in 1938.

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 and up to the birth of the Irish Republic.