By Anna Rose Garvey
In this issue we take a closer look at four films that focus on acts of protest.
The first example is the film Lord Mayor of Cork Dead (1920) from the Irish Independence Film Collection, a British Pathé newsreel documenting the funeral procession of Terence MacSwiney through London and his final resting-place in Cork. Thousands line the streets of London to pay their respects as the constabulary hold back the crowds. The Sinn Féin lord mayor of Cork had been arrested in August 1920 on charges of sedition. While imprisoned, he and over 60 others supported and joined the 1920 Cork hunger strike, demanding the status of political prisoners. Subsequently MacSwiney was moved to Brixton Prison, where he died in October of the same year.
From the 1920s we move to the 1960s, to an Irish-language newsreel from Gael Linn detailing a student demonstration against the testing of nuclear bombs. Following the establishment of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the late 1950s, branches quickly grew in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. This newsreel captures students marching from St Stephen’s Green to the Ambassador Theatre on O’Connell Street.
The final two films explored are Looking On (1982) and Essie’s Last Stand (1999), from the Loopline Collection Volume 1. Looking On (1982) is a largely observational documentary covering community activists resisting the housing and urban redevelopment of the north inner city. Essie’s Last Stand (1999), filmed in Dublin over 1999–2000, follows 76-year-old Essie Keeling, her dog Georgie and her neighbour Karl Byrne, who are fighting eviction by property developers and homelessness. Essie, who has a lifetime lease on her home in St Ultan’s flats on Charlemont Street, gathers a mass of supporters, including Nell McCafferty and Richard Boyd Barrett, and as a group they march to Dáil Eíreann.
LORD MAYOR OF CORK DEAD
1920 / 10 mins
Crowds in London and Cork gather for the funeral procession of Terence MacSwiney in 1920.
DUBLIN STUDENTS PROTEST—AMHARC ÉIREANN: EAGRÁN 126
1961 / 1 min.
In November 1961, students from Trinity College march the main streets of Dublin in protest at the testing of nuclear bombs.
LOOKING ON
1982 / 33 mins
A collective of community activists resist the housing and urban redevelopment of Dublin’s north inner city.
ESSIE’S LAST STAND
1999 / 20 mins
Dublin 1999: 76-year-old Essie Keeling, her dog Georgie and her neighbour Karl Byrne fight eviction by property developers and homelessness.
For a deeper dive into the collections on the IFI Archive Player visit https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/.
Lord Mayor of Cork Dead
Dublin Students Protest – Amharc Éireann: Eagrán 126
Looking On
Essie’s Last Stand
Anna Rose Garvey is Digital Platforms Assistant at the Irish Film Institute.