"Historic Pictures," a newsreel from 1921 that's now available to stream on the Irish Film Institute's IFI Archive Player, shows pictures of the elected representatives of Southern Ireland who approved the Anglo-Irish Treaty alongside members of the provisional government.
Figures featured in the Irish newsreel Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith in the front row.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London on December 6, 1921 and Dáil Éireann voted to approve the treaty on January 7, 1922, following a lengthly debate. The vote was 64 in favour, 57 against, with the Ceann Comhairle (Dáil Éireann chairperson) and three others not voting.
The Sinn Féin party split into opposing sides in the aftermath of the Treaty vote, which led to the Irish Civil War from June 1922 to May 1923.
"Historic Pictures" is part of the IFI's Irish Independence Film Collection.
The Irish Film Institute’s Irish Independence Film Collection
The period 1900-1930 was one of the most turbulent in Irish history, with WW1, the Easter Rising, the War of Independence, and the Irish Civil War all taking place. Due to the emergence of cine camera technology in the 1890s, these three decades are the first to be widely documented on film.
However, Ireland’s lack of indigenous filmmaking during the early part of the last century, means the moving image record of this pivotal period in history was predominantly captured by non-Irish agencies. Newsreels of Irish events were screened alongside their home-grown stories in cinemas. In the early part of the 20th century (before the advent of television) newsreels, radio, and newspapers were the predominant way for the public to keep up to date with important events.
Until recently, these Irish newsreel stories, filmed by British agencies, had not been held in an Irish Archive and many had not been available to the public since their initial distribution 100 years ago. The Decade of Commemorations presented the Irish Film Institute with a unique opportunity to create The Irish Independence Film Collection, comprising Topical budget and British Pathé newsreels, with support from the Dept of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht. As part of this project the IFI was able to repatriate, safeguard and share these important visual documents – centralising them in Ireland for the first time and making them available to the Irish public.
It was essential the IFI Irish Film Archive repatriated the best quality copy of this remarkable material, which so vividly details the political, social, and cultural events that shaped the Irish State. Thus, the IFI worked closely with the custodians of these collections (the British Film Institute and British Pathé) to ensure the best preservation outcome for this material. Acutely aware of the age and fragility of these newsreels, the IFI persuaded both organisations to go back to the original nitrate film prints and meticulously digitise them to HD Quality. The quality of the newly digitised footage is remarkable, allowing even those who may be familiar with this material to see it in a whole new light. Details which were previously indistinct are now crystal clear.
In order to add further value to the collection, the IFI enlisted assistance from National Museum of Ireland and University College Cork. Their staff helped to curate and catalogue the content and ensure that the information presented is as accurate as possible with important events, people, and locations that were originally missed by non-Irish cataloguers. As part of the national centenary celebrations the Irish Film Institute has created a project that not only celebrates this momentous period in our history but that also has lasting value for the Irish public.
“Historic Pictures” is published here thanks to the Irish Film Institute (IFI), who IrishCentral has partnered up with throughout 2023 to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collection entails. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.
To watch more historic Irish footage, visit the IFI Archive Player, the Irish Film Institute’s virtual viewing room that provides audiences around the globe free, instant access to Irish heritage preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. Irish Culture from the last century is reflected through documentaries, animation, adverts, amateur footage, feature films, and much more. You can also download the IFI Archive Player App for free on iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.
IrishCentral has partnered up with the IFI throughout 2023 to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collections entail. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.
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