Our BAI-funded UTV archiving scheme has a wealth of beautiful and interesting film from all over Ireland. It is always a pleasure to show these films at a local event. 

The annual Rathmullan Film Festival in Donegal is a treasure of local and international films, creative workshops and events. Working with the local community, this little film festival has become an established feature of the Donegal calendar and made Rathmullan the film hub of the county.

We were delighted when Laura Aguiar, co-director of the Rathmullan Film Festival, invited Northern Ireland Screen to co-host an event with the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). The focus was on films of Donegal and the surrounding area and the UTV Archive did not disappoint with wonderful film from the 1960s. 

Brónagh McAtasney, Cataloguer of the UTV Archive at Northern Ireland Screen, selected nine clips showing everything from Bunbeg people voting in the 1966 Dáil election, as seen here, to the beautiful craft of the cooper via Donegal scenery and scary folktales.

The screening of this precious footage formed the basis for an interesting discussion with Brónagh and Lynsey Gillespie, Archivist at PRONI, about the process and challenges of preserving film, and how Northern Ireland Screen and PRONI give access to moving image archive. We also discussed copyright and reuse issues. There is always the possibility of someone spotting a familiar face or place in the films and that is also part of the joy of archives.

The event was kindly sponsored by Screen Skills Ireland and had over 35 people tuning in from all over the world.

See all the films here and then explore the Digital Film Archive to spot your home town.