Songs of the Emerald Isle

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 farmlands, seascapes and the River Shannon. In Cavan, the Power Dancers and Ulster champion Marie McCluskey performs a jig in a schoolyard.

Locations in the film include Oughterard, Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo, Fenagh Abbey, Co Leitrim, Co Galway, Cavan, the River Shannon, and the western coast.

This digital copy has been created from the sole print of the film preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive collection. The original 16mm print was clearly much-loved and often-screened and shows some signs of wear and tear including occasional slight picture jumps and audio gaps. We hope this will not affect your enjoyment of the film.