Gaels on Film
Gaels on Film
Cinematic Portrayals of the GAA from Pathé to Hollywood
Friday 13th June, 7.30pm
Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Memorial Library & Archive, Armagh
A selection of rare and early film footage of Gaelic Games will be shown in Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Memorial Library & Archive, Armagh, in an evening exploring how the games have been portrayed in British and American cinema in the 1920s.
Dr. Seán Crosson of the Huston School of Film and Digital Media at NUI Galway, and Dónal McAnallen of the library’s education and outreach team will present the film images as part of two presentations that explore both the factual reporting of games and how Irish sport has been depicted in feature films.
The first part of the event will consist of an examination of British Pathé newsreels and their depiction of Gaelic Games in the 1920s and 1930s, also including footage of Cavan and Armagh teams from the 1940s and 1950s. This will be followed by Dr. Crosson’s presentation ‘Hurling and Hollywood’ which asses the image of Irish sport in American films such as Hurling (1936), The Quiet Man (1952), The Rising of the Moon (1957) – both by seminal Irish American director John Ford – and the Oscar-nominated Paramount Pictures short Three Kisses (1955).
This evening begins a yearlong Heritage Lottery Fund supported programme of events in the library marking 125 years of the GAA. This will include an exhibition on Gaelic Games in Ulster as well as a major conference examining the past, present and future of the games.
Admission is free, although the audience will be limited and therefore pre-booking is essential. For bookings and further details contact the Library on (028) 3752 2981.
