Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive is a free public access resource for teachers, students, historians and anyone who has an interest in moving images. Spanning from 1897 to the present day, the films in the Digital Film Archive cover all aspects of life in Northern Ireland and includes everything from dramas to documentaries, newsreels and features, animation to amateur footage.
This film is part of Free
Ulster (Richer & Rarer)
Take a privileged peek at scarce-seen parts of the province and the dying arts that sustain its people.
From the collection of:
Overview
Probe Ulster’s byways to experience it’s traditions, from sculpting curbstones out of the Mourne cliffs to hand carving a shillelagh in the backyard. Meet one of the last surviving cottage weavers as disappearing skills are captured in glorious colour. Even the kelp making process is re-enacted from memory for the Governor’s camera. Prehistoric stone circles, archaic agricultural implements and the Brontë ancestral home, this film is full of curious sights.
This film was made to mark the first birthday of Northern Ireland's first commercial TV station, Ulster Television. It is a companion piece to 'Ulster Rich and Rare', which had been broadcast the previous year as the station launched. Like its predecessor, Richer and Rare was shot and narrated by John de Vere. Amongst the locations visited is Conlig, once the site of a thriving lead mine. The Conlig mine had been in operation from the mid-1800s, but by the early 1900s it was no longer commercially viable. John de Vere, 2nd Baron Wakehurst was Governor of Northern Ireland from 1952-1964. Throughout his life he was a prolific filmmaker who used his privileged access to capture historic moments in glorious colour.
Related
Watch for free
Belleek, An Enduring Heritage Belleek, An Enduring Heritage
Documentary 1977 24 mins Location: Belleek
Let these potters absorb you in their work as they transform nature into porcelain with the relaxed confidence of generations of experience.
Watch for free
Open Roads Ahead Open Roads Ahead
Documentary 1960 25 mins Location: Portstewart
Are you longing for a holiday? Before you book let these travellers’ tales tempt you to our shores.
Watch for free
Benson and Hedges Fishing Festival Benson and Hedges Fishing Festival
Sponsored film 1976 15 mins Location: Enniskillen
With £5,000 pounds at stake who will you put your money on?
Watch for free
Ulster To-day Ulster To-day
Sponsored film 1967 18 mins Location: Irish Sea
From ancient crafts to state of the art computer production discover how "Ulster is not just yesterday, it is also tomorrow". Forget hindsight and enjoy this industrial dream.
Watch for free
The Quiet Land The Quiet Land
Travelogue 1974 23 mins Location: Lough Erne
A rare portrait of Northern Ireland in a time of conflict as “a land where the pace of life is more friendly, where everybody cares and nobody minds”.
Watch for free
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
Watch for free
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Watch for free
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Watch for free
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
Watch for free
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
Watch for free
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.