Reel Memories

Welcome to the IFI Archive Player

The Irish Film Institute is Ireland’s national cultural institution for film. It provides audiences throughout Ireland with access to the finest independent, Irish and international cinema; it preserves and promotes Ireland’s moving image heritage through the IFI Irish Film Archive, and provides opportunities for audiences of all ages and backgrounds to learn and critically engage with film.

The IFI Irish Film Archive

The IFI Irish Film Archive collects, preserves and shares Ireland’s national moving image collection, a diverse resource that chronicles over one hundred years of Irish achievement and experience. The Archive collection spans from 1897 to the present day, and the cameras of filmmakers have captured the development of modern Ireland in a uniquely accessible manner. The most important social, political and historical events of the last century are represented, enabling us to explore our cultural identity and connect with the past.

The IFI Archive Player

The IFI Archive Player is a virtual viewing room for the remarkable moving image collections held in the IFI Irish Film Archive, giving audiences across the globe instant access to this rich heritage. With over 900 films available on the IFI Archive Player, the material has been curated to give audiences a taste of the breadth and depth of the collections preserved by the archive. Home movies, newsreels, travelogues, animations, feature films, public information films and documentaries have been included as we have tried to reflect all aspects of indigenous amateur and professional production.

IFI is dedicated to ensuring our national moving image collection is preserved and now globally accessible, on behalf of the nation, for future generations. The development of the IFI Archive Player and suite of applications is a significant step for us as it truly democratises access, and we continue to build on the content with new collections and seasonal releases.

Rediscover Ireland

Ireland in Spring

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 festivals and events established in 1953 to celebrate Irish culture and draw more tourists to the country. The wealth of events and happenings the country are shown. In Dublin President Sean T. O’Kelly launches a parade featuring flower-festooned floats from Aer Lingus while outside The Pale we see Gaelic football and hurling, fly fishing in Lough Corrib, and a traditional music festival in Ennis.

To see more of The Bord Fáilte Film Collection, click here.

The Irish Riviera

This early example of a State Sponsored promotional film was made in 1936 and showcases the sunny south coast of Ireland and everything it has to offer to a first-time visitor to Ireland.

Made by the Irish Tourist Association, the film briefly visits Cork City showing that from the busy shopping centre of Patrick’s Street, to the Bell tower of Shandon, Cork is an eclectic, vibrant city. It then lingers at the remote outposts of Mizen Head, Garnish, and Dunquin, as the province of Munster is further explored. The viewer discovers the variety of cultural influences the Spanish Armada had on the south of the country, and learns that only a few miles off the shore of Kinsale, Lusitania – the ocean liner destroyed by a German submarine in World War1 – sank 20 years prior to this film being made.

To see more of The Bord Fáilte Film Collection, click here.

The Glamour of Galway

Galway old and new, is captured in glorious colour in this 1957 Bord Fáilte (now Fáilte Ireland) tourism film produced and directed by Colm Ó Laoghaire .

Situated on the west coast of Ireland, Galway is one of the largest cities in Ireland and boasts a complex history dating back to medieval times. The film highlights the city’s many wonderful historic buildings and points of interest such as market days, picturesque thatched cottages, the Taibhdhearc Theatre, the Galway Blazers hunting club and the electric atmosphere at the world renowned Galway Races.

To see more from The Bord Fáilte Film Collection, click here.

Discovering Ireland

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 the breadth of choice Ireland has to offer any visitor.

Irish Gossamer

This innovative film made by Colm O Laoghaire corresponds the beauty of Irish-made fabrics with the breadth of colour and texture displayed in the Irish countryside.
Commissioned by the Irish tourism board Bord Fáilte to entice visitors to Ireland, this visually-stunning short takes the viewer on a journey through Ireland in 1958 looking at Irish life and landscapes.

Errigal

This visually poetic documentary was shot against the scenic backdrop of Mount Errigal in Donegal and blends the sounds of nature with an elegant musical score.
This government-sponsored film was shot by Patrick Carey for the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1970. To see more from The Department of Foreign Affairs Collection, click here.

Portrait of Dublin

This film was designed to promote the city of Dublin to its inhabitants and to potential visitors from abroad. Brendan Stafford’s crisp black and white cinematography serves the city’s elegant architecture well while the narrator tells of the city’s cultural, literary and architectural history. To see more from The Department of Foreign Affairs Collection, click here.

Yeats Country

This film takes the viewer on a journey around places with which the poet Yeats had a connection: Thoor Ballylee Castle, where Yeats made his home after marriage, and Coole Park, home of Lady Gregory where literary figures of the period met.Made for the Department of External Affairs it won many awards including an Academy Award nomination in 1965.

Dublin 1940s

This silent tourism film made for the Irish Tourist Association provides a warmly-hued panorama of 1940s Dublin.Dublin is presented as a city of romance and contrasts which has survived countless changes through a thousand years of history. On this particular day Croke Park was packed to capacity as Limerick took on Kilkenny in the 1940 All Ireland Hurling Final.