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
Poor Clares
Discover what life is like in an enclosed community of nuns from one of the strictest orders of the Catholic Church.
From the collection of:
Overview
Get a rare look at life inside this enclosed order nearly 60 years after it first arrived in Belfast and 30 years before its closure. Their total commitment to God is expressed through a medieval regime with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and enclosure. The vow of enclosure meant that the nuns were only allowed four visits a year from relatives and even then they would converse from behind a metal grill as seen in this film.
Despite this the public were invited to come to the sisters for prayers and consolation six days a week. When the Cliftonville Road monastery finally closed in 2013 the Bishop of Down and Connor described their “invaluable legacy of prayerful support…especially in turbulent times. From within the enclosure of their monastery, they have constantly reached out in support of those who came to visit them”. The remaining five Sisters were relocated to another order in Carlow. This is an episode of Counterpoint, Ulster Television's landmark current affairs series, which was also broadcast to a national audience on Channel 4. This material is Courtesy of the UTV Archive.
Related
Watch for free
Food for Thought Food for Thought
Advert 6 mins Location: Belfast
Hangry animals demand better grub in this bizarre advert by E.T. Green
Watch for free
Kennedy's Bread Kennedy's Bread
Advert 1960 0 mins Location: Belfast
This family favourite is guaranteed to have you singing all the way to the bread bin
Watch for free
Launch of the "Celtic" Launch of the "Celtic"
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Location: Belfast
Seawards heads a great ship, the biggest of its day
Watch for free
Belfast Street Scenes 1890's Belfast Street Scenes 1890's
Non-Fiction 1898 2 mins Silent Location: Belfast
A view down the High Street featuring the Albert Clock, a shot of Queen's Bridge and the docks
Watch for free
Disabled Access in Belfast City Centre Disabled Access in Belfast City Centre
Current affairs 1981 20 mins Location: Belfast
Join Belfast’s first female Lord Mayor and reconsider how disabled people navigate the streets of Belfast.
Watch for free
Talking Telephone for the Deaf Talking Telephone for the Deaf
Current affairs 1976 7 mins Location: Belfast
Witness Northern Ireland’s first telecommunications device for Deaf people
Watch for free
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Watch for free
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Watch for free
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
Watch for free
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.