Documentary

Glamour of Galway

1st November 2016

Archive Player

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 […]

View

Entertainment

Dublin, Capital City of Ireland

28th October 2016

Archive Player

2

This silent tourism film made for the Irish Tourist Association (the precursor of Bord Fáilte and Fáilte Ireland) 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 […]

View

Documentary

President Kennedy In Ireland

24th August 2016

Archive Player

2

This documentary film produced by the Columban Fathers chronicles President John F. Kennedy’s historic visit to Ireland in June 1963, only 5 months before his tragic assassination. The producer, Father Gerry Smith, a Cavan-born missionary priest, had studied filmmaking in the U.S. He had made a number of films about ‘the old country’ before making […]

View

Entertainment

Love and Money

24th August 2016

Archive Player

In this light-hearted cautionary tale Milo O’Shea and Maureen Toal star as young office workers whose engagement is doomed unless they create some financial security. The film sponsored by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs illustrates the benefits of saving with the Post Office. Donal (Milo O’Shea) is forced to take action after his fiancée, […]

View

Documentary

Errigal

22nd August 2016

Archive Player

This stunning documentary is set against the scenic backdrop of Mount Errigal in County Donegal. The mountains of Donegal are depicted like fairytale characters, where the hero Mount Errigal competes with neighbouring villain Mount Muckish. A fantastical narrative explains that the landscape is ‘a battleground where the weapons are the elements themselves’. Dramatic footage of […]

View

Documentary

Yeats Country

22nd August 2016

Archive Player

Yeats Country is a lyrical film commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs to commemorate the centenary of the birth of William Butler Yeats. The first film made by cinematographer and director Patrick Carey in Ireland, this documentary celebrates the landscape of Yeats’s poetry through stunning photography and a voiceover rich in poetry and in […]

View

Drama

Faithful Departed

22nd August 2016

Archive Player

This short documentary draws on the photographs of Robert French from the William Lawrence Collection held in the National Library. The photos illustrate the Dublin of 1904 which served as a backdrop to James Joyce’s Ulysses. Directed in 1968 by renowned drama and documentary maker Kieran Hickey, the film traces Joyce’s childhood and adolescence, his […]

View

Documentary

Once Upon a Tram

22nd August 2016

Archive Player

Take a nostalgic trip along the beautiful Dublin coast, escaping the hustle and bustle of the city while enjoying the clatter and clang of the old Howth tram. This gentle film, directed by John Sarsfield and James Maguire and narrated by Cyril Cusack, records one of the last journeys of the Howth Tram, as it […]

View

Entertainment

Jack of All Maids

22nd August 2016

Archive Player

Renowned Abbey actor Jack MacGowran investigates Irish courtship rituals from a male perspective in this slice of 1952. A series of humorous vignettes showcase the talents of this extraordinary character actor, best known for his theatre work with Samuel Beckett and his film work including a role in the classic horror movie, The Exorcist. MacGowran […]

View