The Irish Film Institute shares the festive footage from 1963

Dublin's Moving Crib is a popular Christmas tradition in Ireland's capital city where a nativity scene consisting of over 100 mechanical handcrafted figures is set against a delicately hand-painted backdrop.

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The Moving Crib (based at St Martin Apostolate, 30 Parnell Square) opened in 1956. Visitors can enjoy a colourful array of bible scenes from Adam and Eve and Noah’s Ark to the Christmas nativity scene. In 1977, Martin Apostolate relocated to 42 Parnell Street where the festive event is still a popular attraction.

Produced by Gael Linn, Amharc Éireann (A View of Ireland) is Ireland’s longest-running indigenous newsreel series. It was distributed to cinemas throughout the country to promote the Irish language. The first 36 issues were produced as single-topic films which were released monthly, followed in 1959 by weekly, multi-story newsreels featuring a broad range of topics, from hard news stories to lighter magazine-style items. Between 1956 and 1964, 267 editions of the newsreel were produced for cinema exhibition. To see more of the Gael Linn Collection via The Irish Film Institute, click here.

You can take a look at what the iconic scene looked like back in 1963 thanks to Gael Linn and the Irish Film Insitute, below.

The video below is published with thanks to the Irish Film Institute (IFI), whom IrishCentral has partnered up with throughout 2019 to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collection entails. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.

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To watch more gems from Ireland’s past, visit the IFI Player, a virtual viewing room from the Irish Film Institute, giving audiences across the globe free instant access to Irish heritage preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. Irish Culture from the last 100 years is reflected through documentaries, animation, adverts, amateur footage, feature film and much more. Or download the IFI Player Apps for free on iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.

IrishCentral has partnered up with the IFI throughout 2019 to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collection entails. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.