Archives for Education

Adapted by Kalem scenarist Gene Gauntier from the Thomas Moore poem of the same title, You Remember Ellen is a romantic drama of love across the economic divide.

A humble, hard-working farmer’s daughter (Gauntier) lives a simple life until she happens upon a handsome young man on a country road. They fall in love, marry and live at first in her modest family home. However, when it is time to visit his homestead, she discovers her new husband isn’t quite the man she thought.

The film shares the picturesque surroundings of Killarney, Co. Kerry which were a significant part of the appeal to US emigrant audiences.

Director: Sidney Olcott

Duration: 13 minutes

Suggested credit: You Remember Ellen (1911) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive

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A first draft of history: astounding images of Ireland's rubble-strewn capital in the aftermath of a historic rebellion. The rebellion crushed, the cameras whir and Ireland's capital stumbles onto the silver screen. This remarkable record surveys the smashed city centre: ruined buildings astride rubble-strewn streets, peopled by thousands of British troops and by-standing Dubliners, everything filmed with a minimum or art or artifice and the more compelling for it.

Made up mostly of static or slow-panning long shots, the film also offers some eye-opening closer looks: hospital interiors where cheerful nurses attend to wounded Sinn Feiners; soldiers behind sandbags, loading a machine gun for the camera's benefit. The film appears not to adopt any overt position on the violent rebellion or the brutal British response, content simply to commit a first draft of history to celluloid. Attributed to an obscure production company, it may be well be a composite of footage from various sources. Certainly the opening images, evoking a more peaceful Dublin, are older than the rest: a 1916 version of library footage. The opening pan across O'Connell Street is framed through Shamrock-shaped masking, as if to emphasise the contrast with the terrible beauty of what follows.

Duration: 18 minutes

Suggested credit: Dublin After the Easter Rising (1916) © The British Film Institute

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This short amateur film shows a trip to Killiney Hill, Co Dublin, on a beautiful sunny day. The Obelisk stands proudly on the hilltop with views of the Wicklow Mountains in the distance. A boat trip takes us from Bullock Harbour past the beautiful Sorrento Terrace and towards Dalkey Island.

Father Jack Delaney (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).

With kind permission of Irene Devitt.

Director: Father Jack Delaney

Duration: 2 minutes

Suggested credit: Killiney Hill (1930s) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Irene Devitt

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Gloucester Street (which became Seán McDermott Street in 1933) is alive with activity: children play and grapple for the camera’s attention; teachers play school yard games with students and women reluctantly pose for camera. Moments in time are captured in a heavily-populated, inner-city Dublin neighbourhood. The tenement dwellings here were later demolished after Dublin Corporation purchased them in 1941.

Father Jack Delaney (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).

Director: Father Jack Delaney

Duration: 7 minutes

Suggested credit: Gloucester Street (1933) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Irene Devitt

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Summer, Dalymount Park, 1934: The school sports day is in full swing. A band plays and participants compete in boxing, cycling and a sack race as crowds cheer from the stands. It’s clear that a fun day was had by all.

Father Jack Delaney (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).

With kind permission of Irene Devitt.

Director: Father Jack Delaney

Duration: 2 minutes

Suggested credit: Sports Day (1934) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Irene Devitt

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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.

A particular treat for audiences is a visit to the Blasket islands, where we see the residents take a boat out to the mainland. Unfortunately, as a result of persistent emigration, the population of the Blaskets declined and was eventually abandoned in 1953 when only 22 inhabitants remained.

With kind permission of Fáilte Ireland.

Duration: 14 minutes

Suggested credit: The Irish Riviera (1936) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Fáilte Ireland

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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 capacity as Limerick took on Kilkenny in the 1940 All Ireland Hurling Final. Going into the city centre, Dublin trams can be seen passing through a busy O’Connell Street, past Nelson’s Pillar (now home to The Spire) towards Bank of Ireland on College Green. The infamous Moore Street Market is a hive of activity, full of busy shoppers looking for a bargain, in complete contrast to the tranquil gardens of Stephen’s Green, where people are sprawled out on sun loungers making the most of a blissfully sunny day. As the film proudly states, “to the visitor, it is a city of pleasure offering every amenity for enjoyment and happiness”.

With kind permission of Fáilte Ireland.

Director: David Barry

Duration: 10 minutes

Suggested credit: Dublin, Capital City of Ireland (1940) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Fáilte Ireland

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One of the most notable of Father Delaney’s films was made on the grounds of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent and features a Magdalene Laundry (which closed its doors in 1999).

In the film we see nuns and residents playing games in the garden, as well as dancing and performing in a play. Although the film is short, it is the most extensive footage known to have been filmed inside a Magdalene Laundry. These institutions were mostly run by Roman Catholic orders and operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries. Many of the residents were classed as ‘fallen’ women and an estimated 30,000 women were confined as punishment and against their will in such institutions in Ireland. The footage shows what the residents wore, how they played, how they related to each other, the nuns and to the filmmaker.

Father Jack Delaney (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).

With kind permission from Father Delaney’s niece, Irene Devitt, and facilitation by the IFI Irish Film Archive access officers, this film has been used many times by contemporary filmmakers to illustrate life within a Magdalene institution.

Director: Father Jack Delaney

Duration: 10 minutes

Suggested credit: Magdalene Laundry (1940s) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Irene Devitt

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This short film shows a delightful visit to West Cork. The holidaymakers (friends of Father Delaney) relax in the garden of Casey’s Hotel, take a boat to Garnish Island, bathe in the sea and join in an impromptu group singalong and a spur-of-the-moment céille.

Father Jack Delaney (1906-1980) was ordained in 1930 at the age of 24 and served as a parish priest in Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. He served mainly around Seán McDermott Street (then Gloucester Street), Rutland Street and Gardiner Street. His films offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time in inner-city Dublin and include scenes of trips with parishioners, tenement life, school children at play, religious processions, and residents of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Convent (which housed a Magdalene Laundry).

With kind permission of Irene Devitt.

Director: Father Jack Delaney

Duration: 3 minutes

Suggested credit: West Cork (1940s) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Irene Devitt

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A road safety film where Mr. Careless, usually a good law-abiding citizen, becomes a menace when he gets behind the wheel of a car.

Produced by the National Film Institute for the Department of Local Government in 1949 and directed by Liam Ó Laoghaire, this road safety film warns of the dangers of drink driving. Mr. Careless proves to be a most inconsiderate driver as he faces a series of scenarios where he fails to adhere to basic rules of road. His journey takes him from the Wicklow Hills and the village of Avoca into Dublin’s busy streets passing Christchurch, College Green and the Custom House. Though the tone is sometimes humorous, the message is very serious as the film promotes safe, alcohol-free driving and illustrates the perils of drink-driving with grim statistics.

With kind permission of The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Director: Liam Ó Laoghaire

Duration: 11 minutes

Suggested credit: Mr Careless Goes to Town (1949) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport

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This short documentary about renowned Irish cubist painter and stained glass artist Evie Hone was one of a series of artist profiles commissioned by the Cultural Relations Committee of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Filmed at her Dublin studio in Marley Park in Rathfarnham in 1950, it explores the artist’s life, creative process and influences. Hone discusses her education and upbringing, and demonstrates the process of creating stained glass. The film is shot mainly in black and white (due probably to budgetary restrictions) with colour stock reserved to show some of her finest stained glass work at the end of the film.

Hone was born in 1894 in Co Dublin. Shortly before her twelfth birthday, she suffered from infant paralysis which impacted on her health throughout her life. This did not however deter her creative abilities and after years of studying art in London and Paris, she returned to Dublin to set up her own studio in Rathfarnham. Her initial love of abstract art and cubist painting was later replaced by a career working in stained glass. One of her greatest masterpieces is the Stations of the Cross window made for Kiltullagh Church in Galway, which was sold by Whyte’s Auctioneers for €42,000 in 2005. She was a friend and contemporary of Mainie Jellett and together they were instrumental in introducing modern art to Ireland.

With kind permission of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Director: Charles Toomey

Duration: 12 minutes

Suggested credit: Hallowed Fire: The Art of Evie Hone (1950) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of the Department of Foreign Affairs

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This short film was made by filmmaker (later archivist) Liam Ó Laoghaire (aka Liam O’Leary) and was commissioned by the Cultural Relations Committee of the Department of External Affairs.

The 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 and its many venerable inhabitants. The elegant Georgian squares, the bustling markets, the tranquil parks and the sparkling nightlife present a city that is vibrant, cultured and steeped in history.

With kind permission of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Director: Liam Ó Laoghaire

Duration: 17 minutes

Suggested credit: Portrait of Dublin (1952) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of the Department of Foreign Affairs

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One of a series of dramatised public information films commissioned by the Department of Health and directed here by actor/playwright Gerard Healy. A young Dublin girl becomes gravely ill with diphtheria and her parents are filled with remorse for their failure to immunise her.

The aim of this film, commissioned by the Department of Health, was to promote awareness of this infectious disease and encourage immunisation amongst children.

The drama opens in a Dublin schoolyard where a young girl feels poorly and is taken home. When her parents (Brian O Higgins and Angela Newman) take her to the doctor and discover she has contracted diphtheria they blame themselves for their failure to immunise her. She spends time in a fever hospital and, thanks to a programme of intensive care, eventually recovers and returns to home and school. Her parents have learnt a difficult lesson but now have a much improved awareness of the disease, and immunisation and treatment programmes.

This film was one of a series of informational films produced by the National Film Institute (now IFI) in both Irish and English versions. The cast of talented, bi-lingual actors would shoot their dialogue scenes in Irish and then in English (or vice versa) and two versions were then edited, titled as appropriate and released in theatrical and non-theatrical venues such as cinemas, schools and clubs.

With kind permission of The Department of Health.

Director: Gerard Healy

Duration: 9 minutes

Suggested credit: Stop Thief (1953) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive

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A young man (Joe Lynch) contracts tuberculosis to the dismay of his wife (Joan O’Hara) and to the shame of her aunt (Marie Keane). He recovers following a long spell convalescing in a tuberculosis sanatorium.

A public information film infused with tension and humour and directed by actor/playwright Gerard Healy, this dramatized film looks at the treatment of TB in Ireland and was designed to encourage people to have regular health check-ups and to reduce the social stigma associated with the disease. The film opens with a young man believing he has a cold but when it lingers, is prevailed upon by his wife to see a doctor. The doctor diagnoses early stage TB, a disease which was widely associated with poverty and lack of hygiene, and which greatly upsets Aunt Mary. The young man’s case is followed through all stages of treatment until he leaves the sanatorium, restored to his normal good health. The film ends with statistics on governments efforts to reduce TB including building new sanatoria in Dublin and Galway.

TB was a scourge that ravaged Ireland for much of the last century killing over 10,000 people a year with more than half of them children. This highly infectious disease thrived in crowded tenements in Dublin’s inner-city and in the poorly ventilated and thatched cottages in the countryside. By the early 1950s, public awareness, new treatments and improvements in medical care saw the death rate from TB drop from 4,306 in 1943 to 1,600 in 1952. By the end of the 1950s the epidemic had been eradicated.

This film was one of a series of informational films produced by the National Film Institute (now IFI) in both Irish and English versions. The cast of talented, bi-lingual actors would shoot their dialogue scenes in Irish and then in English (or vice versa) and two versions were then edited, titled as appropriate and released in theatrical and non-theatrical venues such as cinemas, schools and clubs.

With kind permission of The Department of Health.

Director: Gerard Healy

Duration: 15 minutes

Suggested credit: Voyage to Recovery (1954) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive

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One of a series of public information films directed with verve and humour by actor/playwright Gerard Healy. This film was commissioned by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in the impoverished years of the 1950s, in an attempt to encourage Irish spendthrifts to mend their frivolous ways.

The film’s intention was to encourage people to save in the Post office, to help provide security for their family, for a holiday, old age or in the event of an illness.

The viewer is given many examples of how people are careless with money, a housewife wastes food and electricity, a young woman fritters away her earnings on hats and magazines, and a bachelor puts his money on horses, greyhounds and into the barman’s pocket. The film includes evocative scenes of O’Connell Street and the GPO as well as the hustle and bustle of Moore Street Market in 1952.

This film was one of a series of informational films produced by the National Film Institute (now IFI) in both Irish and English versions. The cast of talented, bi-lingual actors would shoot their dialogue scenes in Irish and then in English (or vice versa) and two versions were then edited, titled as appropriate and released in theatrical and non-theatrical venues such as cinemas, schools and clubs.

With kind permission of An Post.

Director: Gerard Healy

Duration: 10 minutes

Suggested credit: Where Does the Money Go? (1954) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive

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An English visitor vividly recalls all the sights and excitement of her memorable holiday in Northern Ireland. This enchanting visual 'letter' home creates a rich tapestry of the delights Northern Ireland has to offer. Get caught in the spell of the icons of Ulster's landscape be it the imposing Slemish Mountain, ancient monuments, or journey by car along the dramatic Antrim Coast road. Enjoy the thrill of the TT Race or the thundering hooves at the Royal Down Race Course and Balmoral show. If you prefer a more leisurely pace there are many pleasurable ways of doing absolutely nothing.

This film comes from the collection of National Museums Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Tourist Board had their own staff that documented the region through stills and moving images and the films they created capture various facets of life in Northern Ireland. The department was particularly busy in the mid-1950s to late 1960s, creating films like this that aimed to sell Northern Ireland as a holiday destination. This material captures Northern Ireland at an intriguing time, post-World War Two and pre-Troubles.

Duration: 17 minutes

Suggested credit: Letter from Northern Ireland (1955) © National Museums NI - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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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.

With kind permission of Fáilte Ireland.

Director: Colm Ó Laoghaire

Duration: 14 minutes

Suggested credit: Glamour of Galway (1957) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Fáilte Ireland

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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. The film was produced in 1957 for Bord Failte Éireann and released in 1958. An Tóstal events were hosted around the country from 1953 until 1958 when they ended everywhere except in Drumshanbo in Co Leitrim where an annual festival still takes place today. The local pride engendered by An Tostal inspired annual clean-up plans which were formalised into the National Tidy Towns Award, which is still going strong.

With kind permission of Fáilte Ireland.

Director: Colm O'Laoghaire

Duration: 26 minutes

Suggested credit: Ireland in Spring (1957) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Fáilte Ireland

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This innovative film made by Colm Ó 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. The work of designer Irene Gilbert and fabrics produced by The Crock of Gold and Gaeltarra Éireann are juxtaposed with scenes of rural beauty all around the country. The film also presents cityscapes in Limerick, Galway and Dublin and exciting activities including the Tóstal Festival, the Spring Show, a hurling match at Croke Park and the Horse Show. The texture and warmth of the visuals are complemented by a soundtrack provided by Radio Éireann Light Orchestra. Irish Gossamer won an award at the Kelowna Film Festival.

With kind permission of Fáilte Ireland.

Director: Colm Ó Laoghaire

Duration: 27 minutes

Suggested credit: Irish Gossamer (1958) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Fáilte Ireland

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The Tidy Towns competition established in Ireland in 1958 has proven to be a great initiative, bringing communities together and encouraging residents to look after their town and keep their locality tidy. Glenties in County Donegal is no stranger to the competition and has taken the crown for tidiest town in Ireland for three years in row. This short films shows what it takes to win and what sets Glenties residents apart from other towns in Ireland.

Radharc was an independent production company established by Father Joe Dunn, Father Desmond Forristal and other like-minded priests to make programmes for television and non-theatrical exhibition. Between 1961 and 1996 they made over 400 films in 75 countries on social, political and religious issues.

With kind permission of The Radharc Trust.

Director: Father Joe Dunn

Duration: 7 minutes

Suggested credit: Radharc - Glenties Tidy Towns (1958) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of The Radharc Trust

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Casting one eye on history and the other towards the future, Father Michael Collins examines the changing lives of his parishioners. Ballinascreen is a pragmatic study of changing ways of life in a Catholic parish. Terence Mc Donald’s camera is drawn to the faces of a community in action in agriculture, industry and at play. He invites you to all manner of social gatherings from barefoot pilgrimages to competitive tractor driving. Disappearing skills are revived by new generations competing with their elders. Then after a musical interlude from the Seamus Kerrigan Dance School we meet a young John Hume.

Born in 1936, Father Michael Collins was ordained in Rome in 1960 and went on to spend fifty years working in the Diocese of Derry. He could be often heard on BBC Radio Ulster’s Thought for the Day programme, contributing over 100 pieces. His passion for capturing parish life on film was mirrored in his love of photography, and his book of archive photographs, Travellers in Time and Eternity was published in 2013. This film features photography by Terence McDonald (1926 – 2001), a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry.

Director: Father Michael Collins

Duration: 58 minutes

Suggested credit: © Father Michael Collins - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Celebrate parish life rich with performances ranging from school plays to a reformed Sunday Mass and the awkward rituals of the parish dance. Father Michael Collins brings us a vision of the parish as somewhere to study together, pray together and play together. It begins with the quiet revolution of education as children learn to express themselves with a little guidance. As the Church then takes centre stage enjoy the congregation clambering in and out of tractors in their Sunday best for Mass. Finally the excitement of the parish dance steals the spotlight as opposing teams wait for the deadlock to be broken.

We don’t know the date of this film however it shows that the Latin Tridentine Mass has already been supplanted by the Novus ordo mass (which can be said in any language), suggesting that the Mass must have been filmed after the changes made by The Second Vatican Council in the mid-60s. Born in 1936, Fr Michael Collins was ordained in Rome in 1960 and went on to spend fifty years working in the Diocese of Derry. He could be often heard on BBC Radio Ulster’s Thought for the Day programme, contributing over 100 pieces. His passion for capturing parish life on film was mirrored in his love of photography, and his book of archive photographs, Travellers in Time and Eternity was published in 2013.

Director: Fr Michael Collins

Duration: 23 minutes

Suggested credit: The Parish Centre (1960) © Father Michael Collins - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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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 passes through the village, past the golf club and along the coast – a most elegant form of transport from a bygone era. The line served Howth Head, was constructed in 1901 and was run by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). It was designed to bring visitors to the seaside villages of Sutton and Howth, both located along the North Dublin coast. The tram line was officially closed on 31 May 1959 and the route was replaced by CIE buses. Four of the trams survive today with one on display at the National Transport Museum of Ireland right beside Howth Castle near its former terminus.

With kind permission from Maev Maguire.

Directors: John Sarsfield, James G. Maguire

Duration: 22 minutes

Suggested credit: Once Upon a Tram (1960) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission from Maev Maguire

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"You don't have to sell Cork to me, Huw. To me it's the most important city in the world." Writer Frank O'Connor returns to his native home on Monitor.

Duration: 17 minutes

Presenter/Editor: Huw Weldon

Suggested credit: Monitor (1961) © BBC Archive

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John Morgan reports on whether Irish immigrants should still be admitted freely into Britain at a time when Commonwealth citizens are being restricted. This clip is from Panorama.

Duration: 8 minutes

Suggested credit: Panorama (1961) © BBC Archive

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"O'Connell, Parnell, Smith O'Brien, Nelson... Nelson?! How did he get up there?" Alan Whicker was in Dublin, to see the incongruous pillar originally built in 1809.

Duration: 8 minutes

Suggested credit: Tonight (1961) © BBC Archive

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This Radharc film originally aired in October 1962 and documents the life of the famous Irish painter and writer, Christy Brown. In the film, Father Peter Lemass visits Christy at home in Crumlin, talks with him and shows us his work.

Christy Brown was born on 5th of June 1932 in Crumlin, Dublin, the tenth of 22 children born to a bricklayer and his wife. During infancy Christy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a disability which caused him to have limited muscular control apart from his left foot. With the help of his family and devoted mother, Christy learned to read and write. During his teens he started to paint and wrote his autobiography My Left Foot (1954), which became an international literary sensation and was made into the 1989 Oscar-winning film, directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker.

Radharc was an independent production company established by Father Joe Dunn, Father Desmond Forristal and other like-minded priests to make programmes for television and non-theatrical exhibition. Between 1961 and 1996 they made over 400 films in 75 countries on social, political and religious issues.

With kind permission of The Radharc Trust.

Director: Father Joe Dunn

Duration: 18 minutes

Suggested credit: Radharc - Christy Brown, My Left Foot (1962) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of The Radharc Trust

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Father Joe Dunn introduces Ranafast, the Gaeltacht area in the Rosses region of Donegal, telling us: “We hear a lot about the vanishing Irish, the flight from the land, and the depopulation of the Gaeltacht. But the little village has not suffered any depopulation, particularly during the summer months when the famous Irish college is in operation.”

The film, with a voice-over in Irish, presents the activities of students who come to St. Brigid’s Irish college to learn about Irish language and Irish culture. While they are there to study Irish the students also enjoy many leisure activities during their stay. The views of the local countryside and contact with nature are a big attraction for students raised in the city and we see a group of young people swimming in a sea pool and playing football in a field. Others sit around a dinner table listening to a Seanchaí (traditional Irish storyteller) telling a story, but the high point of the summer is the céilí, where students overcome their shyness and develop a sense of camaraderie.

Radharc was an independent production company established by Father Joe Dunn, Father Desmond Forristal and other like-minded priests to make programmes for television and non-theatrical exhibition. Between 1961 and 1996 they made over 400 films in 75 countries on social, political and religious issues.

With kind permission of The Radharc Trust.

Director: Father Joe Dunn

Duration: 9 minutes

Suggested credit: Radharc - Irish College Ranafast (1962) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of The Radharc Trust

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In this documentary from 1962, Father Peter Lemass takes to the streets of Dublin to interview ordinary people about life in a large inner-city parish.

Fr Lemass discovered that, when membership of the local Men’s Sodality religious group declined, a group of seven men took to the streets to re-engage lapsed members and enlist new recruits. The film includes some fine panning views of inner-city Dublin filmed from a Summerhill rooftop and memorable interviews with locals about their lives and their faith.

Radharc was an independent production company established by Father Joe Dunn, Father Desmond Forristal and other like-minded priests to make programmes for television and non-theatrical exhibition. Between 1961 and 1996 they made over 400 films in 75 countries on social, political and religious issues.

With kind permission of The Radharc Trust.

Director: Father Joe Dunn

Duration: 18 minutes

Suggested credit: Radharc - Men's Sodality (1962) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of The Radharc Trust

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This short documentary presents St. Anthony’s Retreat House in Raheny, a Capuchin-run house which held annual retreats for the public to escape the hum-drum of everyday life and “get closer to God”.

During weekend retreats a wide variety of talks on matters of interest were offered including: prayer and reflection, readings from spiritual books, and practical talks on men’s daily work and duties. When Monday morning arrived the retreatants go back to their day-to-day lives spiritually enlightened.

Radharc was an independent production company established by Father Joe Dunn, Father Desmond Forristal and other like-minded priests to make programmes for television and non-theatrical exhibition. Between 1961 and 1996 they made over 400 films in 75 countries on social, political and religious issues.

With kind permission of The Radharc Trust.

Director: Father Joe Dunn

Duration: 8 minutes

Suggested credit: Radharc - Retreat (1962) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of The Radharc Trust

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Doughty, hardworking and with hope in their hearts, can the city's people meet the challenges ahead and "build a bridge for Derry's future?" An expository documentary that contemplates the history of the city and the circumstances that have led to the divisions and disparity between the Catholic (working class) and the Protestant (merchant class) communities. The myriad economic and social causes of these divisions are examined: the decline in local industry, outward emigration and unemployment.

Terence McDonald (1926–2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald and held in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Director: Terence McDonald

Duration: 22 minutes

Suggested credit: A City Solitary (1963) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Peter McDonald

Licensed by the British Film Institute

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A picturesque journey on the boat train from Belfast to Larne to catch the Caledonian Princess by beloved Ballyclare filmmaker Archie Reid. Let Archie Reid’s camera take you on a train journey full of picturesque scenery of the Northern Irish countryside. Hurtle along the coastline with passengers traveling to Larne for the short sea crossing. While the informative commentary provides the background information, feel free to immerse yourself in the rhythms of railway station life, passengers, moving trains and floating boats.

This turbine steamship, also referred to as a ‘floating garage’, plied back and forth across the Irish Sea, linking Britain to Northern Ireland until 1981 when she retired from service. The Princess spent her later life as the Tuxedo Princess and converted into a floating nightclub to be moored on the Tyne and moved to Glasgow in 1988, returning in 1998. Rumour has it that she was towed away to Greece for a big makeover in 2007, which never took place. Ships Monthly’s investigation proved that she was later broken up at a yard in Turkey. Archie Reid was a History teacher and prolific film maker, you can find several of his gems on the Britain on Film map. This material is courtesy of Elizabeth Reid.

Director: Archie Reid

Duration: 8 minutes

Suggested credit: Boat Train (1963) © Archie Reid - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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Can Ulster face up to its modern problems by the establishment of new industries? This film with its stunning photography gives a British perspective on the industrial problems and progress in Northern Ireland. Take a whistle stop tour around the province’s industries from the glowing furnaces of Belfast’s shipyards to the kilns of Wade Pottery in Portadown. Despite the dated tone of the narration it is a pleasure to watch women at work across the country hand painting linen, creating ceramic insulators and collecting rents for the Housing executive.

This material is courtesy of ITV.

Duration: 9 minutes

Suggested credit: Forging New Links (1963) © Northern Ireland Screen

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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 this documentary which was intended to be shown at fundraising events for Irish-American audiences.

Kennedy was the first American president to visit an independent Ireland, and his visit was seen as both an endorsement of Ireland’s success and a national celebration of homecoming due to his Irish ancestry. There were several films made of the Kennedy visit, but his was the only professionally-made film shot in colour. It shows the visit to his ancestral home in Dunganstown in Co Wexford; sequences from his visits, attended by enormous crowds, in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick; and a series of excerpts from his many public speeches.

Director: Fr. Gerry Smith

Duration: 28 minutes

Suggested credit: President Kennedy in Ireland (1963) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of The Columban Fathers

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Breathing history from every stone, Derry is the gateway to the North West of Ireland and a place of outstanding natural beauty. Come and see for yourself. Walk the walls that have withstood three sieges. Formed in 546 A.D. and situated on the banks of the River Foyle, Derry is one of the oldest remaining walled cities in Europe. It is a destination boasting every facility the contemporary tourist could want. Georgian grandeur in the city is a stone’s throw from the pastoral beauty of the North West. But watch out, shark fishing is not for the squeamish.

Two Hours from London was produced by two Derry teachers, celebrated filmmaker Terence McDonald and John Hume, future leader of the SDLP and winner of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for his pivotal role in the Northern Ireland Peace Process. The film plucks out highlights from the city's rich, multilayered story, from its pivotal, but little heralded role in WWII to the cultural life for which it is famed. This film is courtesy of Peter McDonald and held in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Director: Terence McDonald

Duration: 23 minutes

Suggested credit: Two Hours from London (1963) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Peter McDonald

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Trevor Philpott visits Donegal, the Republic of Ireland's most northerly county. With work in short supply, the men of Donegal are forced to leave home for months of the year to earn a living, leaving the women to work the fields and raise the children alone.

Duration: 10 minutes

Suggested credit: Tonight (1964) © BBC Archive

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Fresh from their collaboration on the Royal Showband film The One Nighters (1963), Bob Monks and Peter Collinson (The Italian Job) came together to make this modest little film promoting canoe-camping holidays run by the Murphy family of Rathcoole in Co. Cork on the Blackwater River.

Blackwater Holiday was made in the summer of 1964 and features commentary by Frank Hall. The film follows the adventures of a group of boys from England and continental Europe all set to enjoy the holiday of their lives in County Cork. The many outdoor activities include canoeing along the Blackwater, songs and stories around the campfire, a trip to Fair Day at Kanturk, Bridge End Abbey and the caves of Gortmore. Happy memories and firm friendships are made on this enjoyable holiday.

With kind permission of Matt Murphy.

Director: Peter Collinson

Duration: 22 minutes

Suggested credit: Blackwater Holiday (1964) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Matt Murphy

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A young man travels to his uncle’s lonely castle to give him a rare tractate. His uncle enlists his help in summoning up the ancient demon Cthulu, using secret rites of Black Magic which involve grave-robbing and murder. As the demon is summoned, the young man fears the worst and is forced to make a life changing decision. Shooting locations like Helen’s Tower and Tulynakill graveyard along with a shrill atmospheric soundtrack makes for a haunting experience.

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 20 minutes

Suggested credit: The Coming of the Black Dawn (1965) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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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 Irish film by cinematographer and director Patrick Carey celebrates the landscape of Yeats’ poetry through stunning photography, narrated by Tom St. John Barry. Evocative images of the west of Ireland illustrate the poet’s life including Thoor Ballylee Castle where he lived, Coole Park, home of Lady Gregory where literary figures of the period socialised, Lissadell House, Knocknarea Mountain, the slopes of Ben Bulben, the waterfall at Glencar and finally Yeats’ grave at Drumcliffe.

Director: Patrick Carey

Duration: 17 minutes

Suggested credit: Yeats Country (1965) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of the Department of Foreign Affairs

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Amusing fantasy of the adventures of a priest who finds his new parish in the grip of the most blatant depravity. Follow the trials of a priest shocked by the depravity of his new parish. How will he resist temptation in a town where sex, sin and violence are the order of the day? Who will offer spiritual comfort in his hour of need, and who will triumph in this epic battle for the souls of Ballybegorrah? To find out watch this hilarious story set in a country which exists only in the minds of those who have never been to Ireland.

This brilliant example of the playful insights of Archie Reid, Rex Thompson and Rowel Friers invites us to laugh at ourselves. Reid was a History teacher and prolific film maker. You can find more of his gems on the Britain on Film map ranging from the delightfully absurd to intimate rural portraits. Friers who appears here as angel, priest and devil was a political cartoonist, performer and painter. He strove to reflect political absurdities of Northern Ireland with impartiality, saying ‘I have no side in all of this. I just make fun of all the madness.’ A graduate of the Belfast College of Art he contributed to the arts throughout his life as President of both the RUA and Ulster Association of Drama Festivals.

Director: Archie Reid

Duration: 14 minutes

Suggested credit: Sodom and Begorrah (1967) © Archie Reid - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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Meet the McCormick Players and experience one of Ireland’s last travelling theatres before it falls victim to the TV epidemic. The McCormick Family find themselves in a hinterland as they compete with Bingo, showbands and TV. Thanks to Terence McDonald we can enjoy their variety show, see behind the scenes and hear their stories. Puppetry, melodrama, songs and sketches will keep you entertained between the family’s moving reflections on this vanishing tradition. The film was reportedly pulled from the RTÉ schedule as the Apollo crash put Burt’s song ‘You’ll Never Reach the Moon’ in a new light.

A Derry teacher by trade, Terence McDonald was an innovative and prolific amateur filmmaker. His remarkable body of work includes sensitive documentaries, dystopian fiction, slapstick comedy and promotional films for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the Northern Ireland Resurgence Trust. The Portable Theatre is just one of many gems by Terence McDonald that you can watch on the BFI Player. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald and held in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Director: Terence McDonald

Duration: 24 minutes

Suggested credit: The Portable Theatre (1968) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Peter McDonald

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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The Irish title translates as One Hundred Thousand Welcomes and that is what awaits the visitor to Ireland in this short film produced by the Film Unit of the National Bus Companies and presented by the Irish Tourist Board.

Opening with a 1916 rebel singalong in “the smoke-filled atmosphere” of the Dublin’s Abbey Tavern the film then begins a pleasant bus journey winding through a host of sun-washed Irish towns and villages and happens upon a wealth of historic ruins dating back to early Christian times.

Céad Míle Fáilte presents a warm and welcoming country and promotes the joys of exploring it on a comfortable and efficient Irish bus. With kind permission of Fáilte Ireland.

Duration: 31 minutes

Suggested credit: Céad Míle Fáilte (1969) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Fáilte Ireland

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"On the open roads of the Irish Republic, there are no traffic jams, no parking meters, no breathalysers."

Holiday 69 takes a driving holiday in County Kerry.

Duration: 5 minutes

Suggested credit: Holiday 69 (1969) © BBC Archive

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Are champions made with a diet of cereal and Guinness? See the world recording breaking rat in his prime before he gets eaten by his owner’s cat.

A Northern Irish town becomes an unlikely centre of 1969’s sporting craze. Should you put your money on Mohammad Mustang Alley or Tully Tornado? Or will the Mad Barber overcome his bad luck and beat the favorites? Join Gordon Burns in Crumlin to meet the rats, check the form and watch the race. See if you can spot the gerbils amongst the rats or perhaps you’ll see a familiar face in the crowd. Then join Leslie Daws in Bangor as the local hopefuls prepare for the world championships.

This material is Courtesy of the UTV Archive.

Duration: 15 minutes

Suggested credit: Rat Racing (1969) © ITV - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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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 storms and lightning blends with a superb score by Irish composer Brian Boydell.

Director: Patrick Carey

Duration: 14 minutes

Suggested credit: Errigal (1970) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of the Department of Foreign Affairs

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Scanning and Remastering Errigal

In Irish legend, Oisín, son of Celtic warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill, was a warrior, a bard and a poet.

This lyrical film opens with a quote from Irish mythology where Oisín describes Irish birdsong as ‘the sweetest in the world’ and urges us to ‘Stop and listen!’ What follows is a stunning, non-narrated depiction of Irish birds, animals and landscapes. Oisín was commissioned by the Department of Land of Ireland as a contribution to the European Conservation Year and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1970.

Director: Patrick Carey

Duration: 17 minutes

Suggested credit: Oisin: Son of Fionn Mac Cumhaill (1970) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of the Department of Foreign Affairs

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Examining the legacy of the past and its enduring impact on Northern Ireland, Ulster Image details the advent of The Troubles and explores how depictions of the country have shifted over time. The film seeks to address misconceptions and reveal the true Ulster, as it is experienced by the majority of its inhabitants.

Archie Reid was a prolific filmmaker based in Ballyclare. Amongst the contributors to Ulster Image are Terence O'Neill (Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, 1963-69) and the politician, William Craig. The artwork, a caricature of well-known political figures of the day, is the work of celebrated artist and cartoonist, Rowel Friers. This material is courtesy of Mrs Elizabeth Reid and artwork appears with the permission from the family of Rowel Friers.

Director: Archie Reid

Duration: 18 minutes

Suggested credit: Ulster Image (1970) © Archie Reid - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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Is mythology stronger than history? Listen to children’s takes on why they commemorate the Battle of the Boyne. Hear what some of the children on parade have taken from the traditions passed down through the generations. Whether seen as celebration or propagation there’s plenty to make you smile as well as think in Archie Reid’s wry take on the 12th of July.

Archie Reid was a History teacher and prolific film maker. You can find some of his gems on the Britain on Film map ranging from the delightfully absurd to intimate portraits of his home town.

Director: Archie Reid

Duration: 6 minutes

Suggested credit: The Sash My Father Wore (1971) © Archie Reid - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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This film is introduced by John Hume with an appeal to American benefactors to help advocate change through non-violent means. In Hume's opinion there was no military solution to the problems that beset Northern Irish society. Discover the stories of activists who share this vision and their response to sectarian housing and unemployment. As a call across the Atlantic to fund the Northern Ireland Resurgence Trust the film weaves social realism with poetic nationalism.

John Hume was awarded the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for his pivotal role in the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Terence McDonald (1926 – 2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald and held in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Director: Terence McDonald

Duration: 27 minutes

Suggested credit: Long Hard Road (1972) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Peter McDonald

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Three alien criminals from the planet Tryzzia are exiled to a distant planet for their heinous crimes. The planet is Earth! Who will stand against these evil extra-terrestrials and thwart their killing spree, or are we all doomed?

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 24 minutes

Suggested credit: The Tryzzian Exiles (1972) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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What is the great secret carried by the stranger who emerged through the fog and what will it take to make him part with it? This foreboding allegory tells the tale of a stranger arriving in a land tormented by history. He emerges through the fog with a secret however the warring giants and pygmies are too entrenched in their futile anger to heed his message. What is the great secret this dignified stranger carries and will anyone listen before it is too late? It was written by Cyril Farrell and produced by Terence McDonald during the early years of violent sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.

Terence McDonald (1926–2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald and held in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Director: Terence McDonald

Duration: 24 minutes

Suggested credit: The Secret (1973) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Peter McDonald

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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"A bloke got punched in Ireland and ended up on his back in Britain."

This clip, from a longer Bernard Falk report on Nationwide, looked at life in Pettigo, the village divided by the Irish border.

Duration: 15 minutes

Suggested credit: Nationwide (1974) © BBC Archive

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What does it take to heed the call of the bright city lights and what is the price paid by those who are left behind?

What has happened to the aspirations of the west? Cyril Farrell and Terence McDonald give voice to the lonely reality felt in the west of Ireland as they weave a tale set amongst the desolate cottages in its barren acres. Generations share their regrets and mourn the loss of those forced to leave in search of a new future. Rusted machinery, lonely bachelors and abandoned homes all bear witness to the harsh fact that you cannot live on beauty or support your family on folklore.

Terence McDonald (1926 – 2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald and held in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Director: Terence McDonald

Duration: 16 minutes

Suggested credit: The Stones Will Speak (1974) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Peter McDonald

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Inspired by the American Horror films from the late 1950s, in a remote American lake a fisherman dislodges a canister which has been jettisoned from a flying saucer. A teenager and his girlfriend manage to convince the police of the existence of an all-consuming creature that has emerged from the canister, but it’s not long before all hell breaks loose and the creature from space consumes everything in its path.

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years Roy has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 21 minutes

Suggested credit: Keep Watching the Skies (1975) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Diane Harron takes Valerie Singleton for a shopping trip in Belfast's bombed-out city centre.

Duration: 8 minutes

Suggested credit: Nationwide (1976) © BBC Archive

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This delightful film documents a trip by ferryboat to the Maidens lighthouse on the little island of Magee, Co. Antrim, to deliver essential supplies to the lighthouse crew. Shortly after this movie was shot, the lighthouse became fully automated and the need for this service disappeared.

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 9 minutes

Suggested credit: Maidens in Distress (1976) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Ever wondered what it’s like to spend 24 hours in the RUC? Watch this 1976 recruitment film and decide if this was the career for you. It’s an early start and a long day ahead, from the criminal to the civic there’s plenty to keep the Royal Ulster Constabulary busy. Despite the historical context of this recruitment film there are few hints of ‘the Troubles’. Instead join trainees as they learn to testify in court and read pub landlords their rights in role-playing exercises. As the sun sets, discover there is more than one way for the blue flashing lights to keep young people off the streets and out of trouble.

This recruitment film intended for schools, universities and general audiences, portrays ‘normal’ rather than the ‘militarized’ policing emerging in Northern Ireland. Released the same year that Merlyn Rees announced in the House of Commons a review of security policy recommending the RUC take over responsibilities for security from the British Army. Both the RUC and Ulster Defence Regiment expanded so that the number of British troops could be reduced; the number of police fatalities also increased with this new frontline role. Rees’s policy of Police Primacy, known as ‘Ulsterisation’, was criticised by both the Unionist and Nationalist communities. This material is Courtesy of the UTV Archive.

Director: Don Higgins

Duration: 26 minutes

Suggested credit: Policeday (1976) © Police Authority for Northern Ireland - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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Christmas in Belfast at the height of 'The Troubles'. Not the most wonderful time of year. Traditional holiday activities and images - Santa on his sleigh, the tree outside City Hall, a children's choir - are punctuated by reminders that not all is as it should be. British Army jeeps prowl the streets and shoppers make small talk as they have their bags searched at security checkpoints.

The film concludes with interviews with religious representatives of the Catholic and Protestant communities. Despite the difficulties that are apparent, they sound a note of optimism and envisage better times ahead. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.

Duration: 2 minutes

Suggested credit: Christmas in Belfast (1977) © Northern Ireland Screen/The British Film Institute

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Reflections – Ireland is a stunning, non-narrated tourist film with accompanying music by Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains.

Many of Paddy Carey films depict a scarcity of civilisation, an untouched landscape, but here he treats the viewer to the beauties of landscape interwoven with a vivid tapestry of human activity: anglers in a lively river; bird-watchers at work; sheep farmers; horse riders; seaweed gatherers. A nighttime sequence shows people gathering in an unidentified village for music in a cosy pub.

Director: Patrick Carey

Duration: 21 minutes

Suggested credit: Reflections - Ireland (1977) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Fáilte Ireland

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A Derry classroom becomes an unlikely setting for this uncanny experimental film by Terence McDonald and Gerry Wills. A Derry teacher turned filmmaker transforms a classroom in his school into a claustrophobic hallucination. Created over two Sunday afternoons this award winning film stars a fellow teacher and local pupils. Terence McDonald and Gerry Wills have worked together on several films; with Nebelung they achieved international success demonstrating their flare weaving this darker postmodern tale of the anxious reactions of a German teacher triggered by an old photograph.

Terence McDonald (1926–2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald and held in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Director: Terence McDonald

Duration: 10 minutes

Suggested credit: Nebelung (1978) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Peter McDonald

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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When two children discover a herd of cows at the end of the rainbow they are disappointed as they were expecting to find gold. The film traces the journey of butter from cows grazing, to milking, to the final churning of milk into a crock of gold – packets of butter – much to the delight of the children. It is a simple delight, and moments like the creative sound mixing in the laboratory scene gives you a taste of Spence’s filmmaking talents.

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 9 minutes

Suggested credit: Crock of Gold (1979) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Two parents take their own path through grief as they come to terms with the loss of their daughter in a car accident. This tender film produced by Terence McDonald explores the idea of resurrection through the experiences of two grieving parents as they mourn the loss of their daughter. These emotional journeys are expressed through the changing seasons, from the barren despair of winter to new hope and new life emerging in the spring.

Terence McDonald (1926–2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and a pioneering amateur filmmaker from Derry. He made 35 films in his lifetime covering a wide range of themes such as mental health, travelling theatre, and portraits of his home town, Derry. His playful fiction films often pay homage to classic cinema moments from Peyton Place to Potemkin, from Chaplin to Jacques Tati. Terence McDonald undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing and produced a body of remarkably sophisticated work. This film is courtesy of his son, Peter McDonald and held in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Director: Terence McDonald

Duration: 18 minutes

Suggested credit: Requiem for Sally (1979) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Peter McDonald

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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A short documentary film on the privately owned Tudor Cinema built and run by Roy Spence’s identical twin brother Noel. The film shows the preparation and organisation involved in running the small 66 seat private cinema and is a loving tribute to classic cinemas of a bygone era.

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 8 minutes

Suggested credit: Tudor Style (1979) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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The brief and turbulent history of the Dunmurry car manufacturer. From hopeful beginnings to notorious end, these clips tell the story of the DeLorean Motor Company. For two years, from early-1981 to early-1983, around 9,000 DeLorean DMC-12s rolled off the production line of the company's Dunmurry factory. Benefitting from £100 million in government financial incentives, its closure was mired in political controversy. However, the DMC-12 would later attain fame of a different kind, owing to its appearance in Back To The Future.

This material is courtesy of the UTV archive. Founded by the maverick car designer and executive, John DeLorean, the company would go bust following his arrest on drug-trafficking charges in late-1982. He would later beat the charges, successfully claiming entrapment by the US government. The film features interviews with DeLorean, local notables and employees of the ill-fated firm. This archival material features in Duncan Campbell’s compelling 2009 film ‘Make It New John’.

Duration: 36 minutes

Suggested credit: DeLorean (1980) © ITV - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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"Walls that were once adorned with political slogans are now the advertising spaces for the latest groups." Something Else examines the punk landscape within the troubled city of Belfast, including live performances from The Undertones.

Duration: 39 minutes

Suggested credit: Something Else (1980) © BBC Archive

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All is not what it seems when two children encounter a giant robot while playing on the beach. A series of truly bizarre events ensue, from vanishing children, flying saucers, to nuclear power plants. The Drumlins are out there.

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 18 minutes

Suggested credit: The Drumlin (1980) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Nationwide examines what it is like to be Irish in England. As a major festival of Irish arts begins in London, the programme includes a look at the Irish community in London and hears from musicians and artists taking part in the festival, and Terry Wogan and Maeve Binchy.

Duration: 7 minutes

Suggested credit: Nationwide (1980) © BBC Archive

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Roger, a ciné enthusiast, enlists the support of fellow ciné-club members in the making of an amateur, sci-fi film. After inadvertently filming an actual alien spaceship, his group thinks he has upped his special effects budget and suspect nothing’s amiss. It won’t be long before Roger is paid another visit by the little green men, but will this be the end or will there be a sequel?

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 13 minutes

Suggested credit: Attack of the Saucer People (1981) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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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.

The 1980s were especially difficult times for Ireland. With high unemployment rates resulting in mass emigration, the country relied heavily on tourism to sustain the economy. Films like this one proved a useful tool in promoting the country to foreign travellers as an ideal place to visit, by showcasing the nation’s cultural and natural amenities. With extensive improvements in transportation and local infrastructure, coupled with extensive marketing plans to promote Irish heritage, Ireland quickly became a busy tourist destination in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

With kind permission of Fáilte Ireland.

Director: Louis Marcus

Duration: 28 minutes

Suggested credit: Discovering Ireland (1982) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Fáilte Ireland

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What has the youth of Greenisland turning Ted? Meet the people reliving the 1950s in the outskirts of 1980s Belfast. What has the youth of Greenisland turning Ted? Meet the people reliving the 1950s in the outskirts of 1980s Belfast.

This Spence Brothers documentary gives an enjoyable glimpse into a family reviving the Teddy boy culture in 1980’s Northern Ireland. Follow John ‘the Ted’ as he shows you where to get the records, clothes and learn the essential moves, all in the outskirts of Belfast. Then meet the other committed members of Greenisland’s Junior Rock ‘n’ Roll society dedicated to this bygone era.

Twin brothers Roy and Noel Spence have been making films like this for over fifty years; with subjects including crafty leprechauns, creatures from outer space, fifties rock 'n' rollers and the undead. You can enjoy many of these fantastical creations on BFI player. This film is courtesy of Roy Spence and is held in the Irish Film Archive.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 22 minutes

Suggested credit: Greenisland Rock (1982) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Considered to be one of the most ambitious films made by the Spence Brothers, this stone-age alien extravaganza has everything a true sci-fi fan needs in spades. The mission is simple: aliens must capture and record living specimens from earth. However a violent earthquake forces the ship to take off whilst a giant robot, used to collect specimens, is swallowed up in the eruption. During quarry excavations in the present day the robot is re-animated, and the mission is still on.

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 16 minutes

Suggested credit: Specimens (1982) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Brady has spent his life trying to outsmart the leprechauns and his big chance comes when he manages to capture one. Keeping the little man a prisoner, he starves the leprechaun until he reveals the secret of his wealth. Armed with this knowledge, Brady sets off across the moor to make himself a very rich man.

Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. To watch more of the Roy Spence Collection click here.

Director: Roy Spence

Duration: 22 minutes

Suggested credit: Brady’s Bargain (1983) Courtesy of IFI Irish Film Archive, with kind permission of Roy Spence

Licensed by The British Film Institute

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Embark on a musical tour of Ulster. Enjoy diving-board hi-jinks and cruise along a sun-dappled Lough Erne. Let song and landscape tell you the story of each county.

Eschewing the standard voiceover, this Tourist Board film weaves a story from stunning scenery and song. At Belfast's Victoria Park children show their skipping prowess, whilst a young Gloria Hunniford entertains guests in the Slieve Donard Hotel. Given that the film was made in the midst of ‘The Troubles’, the filmmakers - by adopting this format - avoided addressing the conflict and were instead able to conjure-up images of an idyllic Ulster.

Locations: Newcastle, Portrush, Mourne Mountains, Lough Erne, Glenariff

Duration: 26 minutes

Suggested credit: Song of Ulster (1986) © National Museums NI - Courtesy of Northern Ireland Screen

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Those wonderful sunny family holidays in Portrush during the late 1950s are recaptured on mainly amateur film.

Duration: 30 minutes

Suggested credit: Up to the Port (1992) © BBC Archive

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