By Anna Rose Garvey
Benjamin True Gault (1858–1942) was an American conservationist and ornithologist. On his travels to observe, record and film birds, he visited Cork and Kerry in 1925–6. During this period in Ireland he was able to capture many seabirds and wildlife, as well as the daily lives of the people of the Blasket Islands, Dunquin and the wider Munster area at that time, going to school, church and local markets, dancing and sowing crops, to name just a few activities.
After his death in 1942, Gault’s collection of bird specimens, field notes and films remained at the home of the Wagoner family, friends with whom he lived during the latter portion of his life. In 1964 a daughter of the family donated the entire collection to the Morton Arboretum and the Field Museum. The collection was later moved to the vaults of the Chicago Academy of Sciences for preservation.
Micheál Ó Mainnín, a Ballyferriter native whose interest in the films was sparked by his grandfather’s tales of Gault’s visit, tracked them down to the Academy and in 2019 alerted the IFI to their existence.Subsequently, the IFI Irish Film Archive, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and the Chicago Academy of Sciences partnered to restore the 23 rolls of nitrate camera negatives.
To celebrate UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2024, the Benjamin Gault Collection was launched on the IFI Archive Player. The high-quality restored footage, available to watch now from anywhere in the world, includes musical accompaniment by Dingle natives Aoife Granville (fiddle, flute) and Deirdre Granville (harp).
BENJAMIN GAULT COLLECTION
1925–6 / 26 mins
Film roll excerpts, restored in a collaboration between the IFI Irish Film Archive, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and the Chicago Academy of Sciences.
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.