Digital Film Archive

DescriptionDate
thumbnailUlster Rich and Rare

A film made and narrated by Lord Wakehurst for the opening of Ulster Television in 1959.
1959
thumbnailThe Battle of Belleek

The recapture of the border town of Beleek that was seized by the Sinn Feiners. At the end of May 1922 Joe Sweeney, commander of the pro-Treaty forces in Co Donegal, occupied Pettigo, a town that straddled the Donegal/Fermanagh border and soon the ´Belleek - Pettigo Triangle´ (the portion of Fermanagh contained by Lower Lough Erne) looked as if it would fall to the Free State. Fifty A-Specials arrived by boat and commandeered Magherameenagh Castle only to be driven out by the Free State forces. Churchill ordered several hundred troops with artillery to converge by land and water on Belleek and Pettigo. The two villages were surrounded and shelled by howitzers. three IRA men and one Special Constable were killed. The final operation is well filmed here.
1922
thumbnailThe Seat of all the Trouble!

A view of the new political frontier at Beleek on the Fermanagh/Donegal border. After the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 6th December 1921, the Irish Free State became a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth. The Free State, however, consisted of only 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland. The remaining six, on the other side of the Ulster border, remained under British rule.
1924
thumbnailLand of Magic, Part 1

Film produced in the 1960s for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
1962
thumbnailJames Boyce. Our Roving Reporter

James Boyce was a well known figure on television in the 1960s, specialising in quirky items. This programme features nine items - Fairy tree at Annacloy, a dog cemetery, Downpatrick jail, a straw wedding in Fermanagh, the Belleek Hotel, the railway station at Fivemiletown, Castlewellan Castle, Botanic loo and cycling with Sally.
1969
thumbnailHand Painting at Belleek Potteries

Staff at the Belleek Potteries hand paint Belleek chinaware. The photo is from the Green Collection at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. (© National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum)
2005
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories: Lough Erne Escape

With their Belfast city centre shop being caught up in the bombing of the early Troubles, Paddy and Margaret Brand escape at the weekends to find fun and leisure in the lakelands of Fermanagh. The footage includes scenes of them waterskiing and enjoying outdoor parties by the waterside as an antidote to the stressful times back in Belfast. This clip appeared in Series 1, Programme 1 of Super 8 Stories.
1969
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories Extra Footage: Waterskiing on Lough Erne

Scenes of pleasure cruising on Lough Erne and partying by the shore during the 1970s as well as waterskiing footage taken from the back of the boat and the formation of human pyramids while waterskiing. Sections of this footage were included in the Super 8 Story, 'Lough Erne Escape'.
1979
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories Extra Footage: Farm Life in Fermanagh

Scenes shot around a farm in County Fermanagh during the 1970s. Sections of this footage were included in the Super 8 Story, 'Teaching in Zambia'.
1979
thumbnailSuper 8 Stories: The Big Freeze

In the winter of 1963 Northern Ireland was brought to a standstill under blizzard conditions with the snow playing havoc with daily life for weeks to come. Such was the severity of the conditions that this period would always be henceforth referred to as 'The Big Freeze'. Combining amateur film from a wealth of different sources across the country and interviews with the people who shot it we are able to see how this this event affected the people of Northern Ireland. From the seriousness of the situation in Castlewellen where the whole town was cut off and needed supplies delivered by helicopter to the fun side of things with people driving a Mini across the frozen waters of Lough Erne, as well as hearing the thoughts of Dennis Tuohy who was a television weatherman of the time. This clip appeared in Series 3, Programme 4 of 'Super 8 Stories'.
1963

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