By Anna Rose Garvey
This year saw the launch of Ballymun Community Films on the IFI Archive Player, the culmination of a five-year project between Ballymun Communications and the IFI Irish Film Archive, funded by Coimisiún na Meán. Over 1,000 hours were digitised and catalogued in the IFI Irish Film Archive. A showcase of more than 500 films from the Ballymun Communications Archive is now available to the public at www.ballymuncommunications.com, with a selection of twenty key films available on the IFI Archive Player. The Ballymun Communications Archive and Ballymun Community Films Collection were officially launched on 17 July 2025 at Axis Ballymun, with screenings, live performances and a panel discussion.
Here we explore three of the twenty films now available on the IFI Archive Player. The first, The Ballymun Housing Project (1973), directed by Colm Ó Laoghaire, is a promotional film about the design, planning and construction of the Ballymun high-rise towers between 1964 and 1968. The film features interviews with Neil Blaney, minister for local government, Brendan O’Reilly, architect of the Ballymun estate, and Joe McDonough, structural engineer. The housing project is presented as successful in its construction and urban planning.
The second, Two of a Kind (1987), directed by Playback Video, compares the issues faced by residents in the Ballymun housing project with those faced by residents of the Divis Flats in West Belfast. Members of both neighbourhoods meet to share their experiences regarding advocacy and social issues.
The third, The 4th Act (2016), directed by Ballymun native Turlough Kelly, explores the legacy of the eighteen-year social regeneration project of Ballymun. Kelly initiated the project after making contact with the two remaining residents of Plunkett Tower, the last of Ballymun’s seven high-rise towers. Using a wide range of found footage and interviews, Kelly provides unique insights into the history of the towers and the lives of the residents in the period leading up to the demolition of the final high-rise tower.
THE BALLYMUN HOUSING PROJECT
1973 / 29 mins
A documentary on the design, planning and construction of the Ballymun housing project between 1964 and 1968.
TWO OF A KIND
1987 / 34 mins
A documentary comparing the lives and facilities of residents in Ballymun towers, Dublin, and Divis flats, West Belfast.
THE 4TH ACT
2016 / 1 hr 16 mins
A documentary on the legacy of the social regeneration project of Ballymun.
For a deeper dive into the collections on the IFI Archive Player visit https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/.
Anna Rose Garvey is Digital Platforms Assistant at the Irish Film Institute.