The Parish Centre

Details

Location

Co. Donegal, County Donegal, Donegal, Muff

Year

1960s

Date

c1964

Length

22min 44sec

Audio

sound

Format

16mm

black and white

Source

Digitised as part of Unlocking Film Heritage

Courtesy

British Film Institute, Father Mick Collins, Peter McDonald

Rights Holder

Father Mick Collins

It is illegal to download, copy, print or otherwise utilise in any other form this material, without written consent from the copyright holder.

Description

Celebrate parish life rich with performances ranging from school plays to a reformed Sunday Mass and the awkward rituals of the parish dance.

Father Michael Collins brings us a vision of the parish as somewhere to study together, pray together and play together. It begins with the quiet revolution of education as children learn to express themselves with a little guidance. As the Church then takes centre stage enjoy the congregation clambering in and out of tractors in their Sunday best for Mass. Finally the excitement of the parish dance steals the spotlight as opposing teams wait for the deadlock to be broken.

This film was made in the townland of Inkaheen in Donegal, near the town of Muff. The dance hall scenes are of the St Mary's Parish dance, held on Sunday evenings in Muff.
 

Notes

Born in 1936 Fr Michael Collins was ordained in Rome in 1960 and went on to spend fifty years working in the Diocese of Derry. He could be often heard on BBC Radio Ulster’s Thought for the Day programme, contributing over 100 pieces. His passion for capturing parish life on film was mirrored in his love of photography, and his book of archive photographs, Travellers in Time and Eternity was published in 2013. 

Terence McDonald (1926 - 2001) was a teacher, film historian, film collector and pioneering filmmaker from Derry.

McDonald made 35 films in his lifetime, covering a broad range of themes and genre; be it unflinching documentaries or slapstick comedies, explorations of mental health or of travelling theatre. Often, however, it was his hometown, Derry, that was the focus of his attention - the city vividly portrayed in A City Solitary and City of Londonderry.

A true cinephile, his artful works of fiction nod to classic cinema, referencing the likes of Peyton Place and Battleship Potemkin, Charlie Chaplin and Jacques Tati.

A truly independent filmmaker, he undertook all aspects of production - filming, sound recording and editing - producing a body of boldly imaginative, technically sophisticated and award-winning work. Along the way he would work with the likes of John Hume and Father Edward (later Bishop) Daly.

Credits

Produced and Narrated by Father Michael Collins

Photography by Terence Mc Donald

Digitised as part of Unlocking Film Heritage

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