Sixties NI - Episode 1

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Sixties NI takes us on a journey back to the early 1960s in Northern Ireland, as seen through the lens of the fledgling UTV. With narration from Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones, Derry Girls) and an evocative soundtrack from the years in question, the series provides a sense of nostalgia for a decade of change and optimism.

In this first episode we see how plans were made to bring independent television to the people of Northern Ireland with Ulster Television setting up in a former warehouse at Havelock House. We are given a glimpse behind the curtain of the cutting-edge technology of the time in the new studios, as well as the opening seconds of the channel with Sir Laurence Olivier welcoming the viewers on the first evening.

Glimpses of programmes such as For the Very Young and Romper Room entertained a generation of young children and we see clips from these series along with the title sequences of much-loved programmes and their presenters such as Tommy James, Jimmy Greene, Anne Gregg, Adrienne McGuill and Charlie Witherspoon.

With UTV now up and running, the country had a second channel, and this was a channel which would focus very much on everyday life, customs, traditions and the lighter side of life. Wonderful footage of the teenage scene in the early 1960s shows a whole new generation, no longer shackled by rationing or wartime, who grew up with the expectation that they could make some fun.

We see inside the quaint world of milk bars, which were an important and popular part of the social scene in the early 1960s. And, of course, the dancehall circuit is also covered with the teens of the era grooving to the latest seven-inch singles in the unmistakeable fashions of the time.

There was one teenager, however, who is more linked to the story of 1960s Northern Ireland than any other – George Best. In remarkable archive unseen for over sixty years, the young seventeen-year-old footballer is interviewed about his hopes and dreams as he prepares to make his second international appearance, having just broken through to the first team at Manchester United.

And he wasn’t alone in making an upward trajectory in sport at the time with footage of a young Mary Peters in the decade before she won Olympic gold. And while these young stars were rising, one older one was bowing out as the final appearance of the rugby legend Jack Kyle was caught on camera.

Sport in the countryside was also filmed. From the blazing wheels of Paddy Hopkirk in the Circuit of Ireland Rally to the old traditions of road bowling and handball, we are served highlights from the archives.

And there is explosive footage of what is regarded as the greatest boxing match to ever take place on the island of Ireland, between two Belfast rivals – John Caldwell and Freddie Gilroy. The fighting Turkington brothers and the heavyweight Big Bad Jim Monaghan also feature.

But it wasn’t all serious sport for the ultimate prizes. The episode also includes archive footage of the thrills of competitive shoe mending, table-laying, bun eating and an ill-advised pipe smoking competition.

This is a snapshot of Northern Ireland in the early 1960s – a world of possibility.