By Saskia Vermeulen
In this issue we explore newsreels of two pivotal moments, fortunately captured on film. Ireland’s lack of indigenous film-making during the early part of the last century means that the moving image was predominantly captured by non-Irish agencies. These newsreels of Irish events were screened alongside home-grown stories in cinemas and were an important way for the public to keep up to date. Until recently, these newsreels, filmed by British agencies, were not held in an Irish archive and many had not been available to the public since their initial distribution 100 years ago. The ‘decade of centenaries’ presented the Irish Film Institute with a unique opportunity to repatriate, safeguard and share these important visual documents. The IFI worked closely with the custodians of these collections (the British Film Institute and British Pathé) to ensure that the fragile, original nitrate film prints were meticulously digitised to HD quality. The detail of the footage is remarkable, allowing even those who may be familiar with this material to see it in a whole new light. Details that were previously indistinct are now crystal-clear.
FIGHTING SPEECH
1922 / 43 seconds
Michael Collins addresses the question of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in front of a huge crowd gathered outside College Green in March 1922. Collins described the Treaty as ‘the freedom to achieve freedom’. In practice, it offered most of the symbols and powers of independence. These included a functioning, if disputed, parliamentary democracy with its own executive, judiciary and written constitution, which could be changed by the Oireachtas. Although a republic was not an option at the time, the Treaty still afforded Ireland more internal independence than it had possessed in over 400 years, and far exceeded the most optimistic goals of the Home Rule movement.
IRISH REPUBLIC PROCLAIMED
1949 / 3 minutes and 53 seconds
Twenty-seven years later, on 18 April 1949, the Republic of Ireland Act came into force. It declared that Ireland may officially be described as the Republic of Ireland and that the president of Ireland had the executive authority of the state in its external relations. This momentous event in Irish history is documented in this newsreel, when a collection of dignitaries, including President Seán T. O’Kelly, Lord Mayor of Dublin John Breen, Maud Gonne and Éamon de Valera, arrive at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, for the ceremony. Crowds of people gather on O’Connell Street as the national flag is hoisted and a salute is fired from the top of the GPO.
For a deeper dive into the collection visit https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie.
Saskia Vermeulen is Digital Platforms Manager at the Irish Film Institute.
FIGHTING SPEECH
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IRISH REPUBLIC PROCLAIMED
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