This short documentary blends archival footage with contemporary film and interviews captured by local filmmakers during a participatory project. Set in Hilltown County Down, the film follows the revival of the historic Booley Fair which celebrates the ancient semi-nomadic traditions of 'boleying' in Hilltown and the vibrant relationship between the people and the Mourne mountains.
The Booley Fair festival was launched in the summer of 1986 as a celebration of rural traditions and to revive bygone days for everyone to enjoy. The Newry Reporter reported on the origin of its name: ‘In parts of Sixteenth Century Ireland, cattle were the principal form of wealth among the poorer farming people. In the summertime the cattle were driven to pasture in the hills and moors, where people built cabins of sods, roofed with heather. These were known as Booley huts. Everyone looked forward to summer in the mountains because there was little to do except herd cattle, and there was plenty of time for enjoyment. Any festivities they would have engaged in would have been known as “Booleying”. In the Hilltown area, cattle gave way to sheep in the early part of the Nineteenth Century’.
The festival was revitalised a few years ago and is now known as ‘Back from the Booley’
The film is directed by Laura Aguiar, Brónagh McAtasney and Elspeth Visher and was made in 2024 as part of Ulster University’s Creative Archives research project, in partnership with Northern Ireland Screen Digital Film Archive, Rural Community Network and the Clonduff Enterprise Development.
During the project, local filmmakers received training in smartphone filming and interview techniques to document the story of the Booley Fair which brought community voices directly into the filmmaking process. The participants also engaged in an editing workshop, where they helped select interview segments and visuals for the final cut. This close collaboration with the group, from scripting to editing, ensured their voices were heard and their ideas shaped the final film, resulting in a cut approved by the participants themselves.
Archival clips from across Northern Ireland were carefully selected and creatively woven in by curator and editor Stephen Newe to enhance and contextualise these stories. Stephen also composed a bespoke sound score that added further depth and cohesion. The result is a true community and archive effort that will preserve an important local story for future generations.