Dubliners lined O’Connell Bridge to welcome Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick for Christmas 1962
In December 1962, Rudolph and his reindeer team must have been resting for Christmas Eve t as Santa chose to waterski into Dublin City on the Liffey River to help ring in the season.
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Dublin’s streets were lit up with a canopy of fairy lights and each shop window was adorned with gifts and decorations. Shoppers bustled through Moore Street and Henry Street ready to snatch up a bargain as the children gazed at the classic toys and goodies on display.
This video from The Irish Film Institute gives a peek into Santa’s rather unorthodox arrival during a bygone era.
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, click here.
The video below is published with thanks to the Irish Film Institute (IFI), whom IrishCentral have 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.
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