John Philip Holland: Fómhuireáin na bhFíniní

A documentary about the remarkable life of John Philip Holland

John Philip Holland was an Irish engineer born in Liscannor, County Clare, in 1841. He grew up in an Irish-speaking family and didn't learn English until he attended school in Limerick. Following a stint as a Mathematics teacher, he emigrated to the United States in 1873. The USA was where he made his name. Following a bad fall on an icy Boston street, he spent his convalescence developing and refining his ideas for a submarine. This documentary follows Holland's remarkable life and his gruelling efforts to develop submarines for the US Navy, Irish revolutionaries and the Royal Navy. 

Packed with interviews with experts such as Dr Terry Golway and reproductions of key scenes from Holland's mission to build his submarines, Macdara Vallely hosts and directs the informative documentary.