Digital Film Archive

DescriptionDate
thumbnailDerry Election Day

On 1st February 1913 the Nationalist candidate (member of the Irish Parliamentary Party), David C. Hogg defeated Colonel Pakenham, the Unionist candidate in Derry by the narrow margin of 67 votes. This was a a severe disappointment to the Unionists as it meant that the Nationalists held a majority of seats (a majority of one) in the nine-county province of Ulster.
1913
thumbnailProtestant Graffiti

Graffiti and mural painting became a standard with Nationalists and Unionists as a way of expressing their political beliefs.
1920
thumbnailUlster Rich and Rare

A film made and narrated by Lord Wakehurst for the opening of Ulster Television in 1959.
1959
thumbnailState Visit to Derry

The Duke of Abercorn visits Derry.
1929
thumbnailAmelia Earhart landing in Derry

Amateur film of Amelia Earhart and her plane in Gallagher's field in Co. Londonderry.
1932
thumbnailItalian Air Armada

Newsreel of the arrival of the Italian Air Armada at Lough Foyle on 2nd July, 1933.
1933
thumbnailIrish Travelogue

A journey around Northern Ireland - from Portrush to Belfast and Bangor, featuring Richard Hayward.
1935
thumbnailThe U-Boats Come In

This newsreel looks at the surrender of German submarines throughout Britain. U-Boats on the River Foyle can be seen at 2:07-2:58.
1945
thumbnailAbout Britain

British travelogue in which Richard Dimbleby takes a journey around Northern Ireland.
1954
thumbnailCircus in Derry

Amateur film of Chipperfield's Circus coming to Derry.
1959
thumbnailLand of Magic, Part 1

Film produced in the 1960s for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
1962
thumbnailFarewell, the Derry Road

A film detailing the closedown of the Belfast - Derry railway line on 14 February 1965.
1995
thumbnailApprentice Boys parade through Derry

The parade is held in August, celebrating the relief of the city at the end of the siege of Derry, on 1st August 1689. Another parade is held in December, commemorating the closing of the gates by the original Apprentice Boys on 7th December 1688. The December event is popularly known as Lundy's Day.
1969
thumbnailDerry. Burning houses and buildings

Burning buildings in Derry in 1969.
1969
thumbnailApprentice Boys Parade and Bernadette Devlin

Views of a parade in the Bogside area of Derry/Londonderry and of Bernadette Devlin, later McAliskey. Elected to the British Parliament from Northern Ireland in 1969, she was at age 21 the youngest-ever British MP.
1969
thumbnailRiots in Derry

Scenes of rioting in the Bogside in Derry in 1969.
1969
thumbnailJames Boyce in Derry

This silent piece was part of a James Boyce article on Derry.
1969
thumbnailJames Boyce in Derry

This interview with Stephen McGonigle was part of a larger programme in which James Boyce looked to the future of Derry.
1969
thumbnailJames Boyce in Derry with John Hume

This interview with John Hume was part of a larger programme in which James Boyce looked to the future of Derry.
1969
thumbnailLondonderry, What Now?

'The sad self-destruction of Londonderry is the outward sign of the real and imagined wrongs which are part of a problem that has bedevilled Ulster for generations'. Source: script extract from Londonderry, What Now?
1970
thumbnailBritish Troops in Londonderry

A look at British Troops on patrol on the streets of Londonderry in 1972 at the height of the Troubles.
1972
thumbnailWidgery Tribunal, tape 3

Actuality footage, filmed from an army helicopter, of the Bloody Sunday events in Londonderry.
1972
thumbnailMother Ireland

A documentary looking at the representation of nationalism and feminism.
1988
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories: 'Dopey Dick' Killer Whale

In the 1970s Londonderry gained a celebrity in the shape of a killer whale nicknamed 'Dopey Dick' who swam up the River Foyle and couldn't get back out to sea. James Kelly remembers shooting his film of the incident and his son, Eddie, talks about how the local children reacted. This clip appeared in Series 1, Programme 2 of Super 8 Stories.
1979
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories: The Undertones

Seminal punk band The Undertones are remembered by fan, Linus McLaughlin, and Martin Bradley, a brother of a band member, with footage of them making their first appearance on Top of the Pops and performing at the Rocking Chair bar in Londonderry in 1978. This clip appeared in Series 1, Programme 3 of Super 8 Stories.
1978
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories: The Pope in Ireland

Seamus Kelly and his son Eddie recount how their family travelled down from Northern Ireland for the historic visit of the new Pope, John Paul II, on his appearance in Drogheda in 1979. This clip appeared in Series 1, Programme 3 of Super 8 Stories.
1979
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories: Family Life in Londonderry

Brothers, Peter and Raymond Davidson, recall their experiences of growing up in Londonderry during the 1960s with footage showing their journey from children and days out at Barry's Amusements in Portrush to fatherhood and the dark spectre of the Troubles during the 1970s. This clip appeared in Series 2, Programme 2 of Super 8 Stories.
1969
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories Extra Footage: Killer Whale in River Foyle

In the 1970s Londonderry gained a celebrity in the shape of a killer whale nicknamed 'Dopey Dick' who swam up the River Foyle and couldn't get back out to sea. Local schoolteacher James Kelly took this footage along with scenes of local children in a classroom at the time of the event. This is the original unedited footage which was used in the making of the Super 8 Story, ''Dopey Dick' Killer Whale'.
1979
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories Extra Footage: The Undertones at the Rocking Chair Bar, Derry

Footage of seminal punk band, The Undertones, performing at the Rocking Chair bar in Londonderry in 1978 the night after their first appearance on Top of the Pops. This is the original unedited footage which was used in the making of the Super 8 Story, 'The Undertones'.
1978
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories Extra Footage: Pope John Paul II in Drogheda

A family record shot from the crowds gathered at Drogheda to witness the historic visit to Ireland of Pope John Paul II in 1979. This is the original unedited footage which was used in the making of the Super 8 Story, 'The Pope in Ireland'.
1979
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories Extra Footage: Bomb Damage and Riots in Londonderry

Early 1970s bomb damage to buildings in the Diamond in Londonderry as well as footage of riots in the street. Sections of this footage were included in the Super 8 Story, 'Family Life in Londonderry'.
1969
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories: West Indies Cricket

In 1968 some local cricket fanatics in the Limavady region pulled off a major coup by securing a game against some of the greatest players from the mighty West Indies team. Such was a good spirit engendered by this game that a return was organised a few years later and a North West select team went on tour to the Caribbean. Players, Ozzie Calhoun and John Hunter, share their memories and John's wife, Sheila, remembers the trip to the West Indies. This clip appeared in Series 3, Programme 1 of 'Super 8 Stories'.
1968
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories: The Murphy Family

The Murphy family from Derry had taken the life-changing decision to emigrate to New York when they grew homesick for their roots and decided to return to Northern Ireland to raise their family, despite the shadow of the Troubles hanging over the country. Combined with their amateur film footage they tell their story of the return to Derry and of summers spent holidaying in Donegal. This clip appeared in Series 3, Programme 2 of 'Super 8 Stories'.
1973
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories Extra Footage: West Indies XI v North West XI

Sections of this footage were included in the Super 8 Story, 'West Indies Cricket'.
1969

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