Latest news with #BallymunCommunications
Irish Independent
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Over 40 years of Ballymun life preserved in powerful new film archive
A collection of films capturing more than four decades of life in Ballymun has been unveiled as part of a new community archive, preserving the voices, stories and experiences of one of Dublin's most historically significant neighbourhoods. The Ballymun Community Films collection, now available to view via the IFI Archive Player, features 20 curated works drawn from over 1,000 hours of footage shot by local residents. Digitised and preserved by the IFI Irish Film Archive in partnership with Ballymun Communications, the project offers an unfiltered look at the area's evolving identity — from high-rise beginnings to regeneration and beyond. Speaking on Near 90.3 FM Northside today, Niall Anderson, Project Manager at the Irish Film Institute, described the archive as 'a whistle-stop tour of the history of the community over the last 40 years'. 'It's very rare to have so many films over such a period of time, all kind of in one place,' he said. 'I'm not aware that there's any precedent for it at all.' Launching this evening at Axis Ballymun, the collection showcases everything from youth programmes and local arts festivals to political visits, street life, and the controversial demolition of the original flat complexes. The work is part of a larger five-year collaboration between the IFI and Ballymun Communications, supported by media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, which aims to safeguard and celebrate community-made media. A total of 550 digitised films from the broader Ballymun Communications Archive will eventually be made available through community channels. Mr Anderson, who grew up in Ballymun himself, said the project felt deeply personal: 'My parents moved into the towers in 1967. Watching this footage, it's basically my life story as well. It's been a real privilege to work on this.' The collection includes acclaimed documentary The 4th Act by Turlough Kelly and Andrew Keogh, which critically explores the area's regeneration, as well as rare footage of the Ballymun Housing Project, the visit of President Mary Robinson, and grassroots employment and education initiatives from the 1980s and 1990s. The films were created through Ballymun Communications, a long-standing social enterprise that has trained generations of local filmmakers. Mr Anderson stressed the archive's ongoing community role: 'Sometimes we couldn't identify people or places in the footage, so we turned to Facebook groups in Ballymun and within an hour, we'd have answers,' he added. 'The community has been involved from day one.' The archive is intended not only as a record of the past, but as a living resource — accessible to residents and future generations. The digitised material is now securely stored in the IFI's state-of-the-art digital preservation system, ensuring long-term access. The public can view the curated selection for free on the IFI Archive Player.
RTÉ News
17-07-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Forty years of Ballymun captured in video collection
A collection of more than 40 years of camera footage telling the story of Ballymun has been launched. 'Ballymun Community Films' tells the story of the unique community that is now available free-to-view worldwide on the IFI Archive Player. Ballymun, which was established in 1967 to ease overcrowding in Dublin's city centre, became Ireland's first and largest high-rise housing development. While often defined by its social challenges in media coverage, the team behind the project said the films illustrate how Ballymun is also a place of "extraordinary community spirit, creativity, and resilience". "We are delighted that this collection will be made accessible by Ballymun communications to the entire community," said IFI Archive Policy and Project Manager Niall Anderson, a Ballymun native who managed the project at the IFI. The films provide insights into the life of Ballymun: its arts and music scene, community-led education and employment initiatives, the slow decline of its town centre, and the sweeping regeneration project that dramatically reshaped the area. Outlining the community involvement in the five year archiving process to date, Mr Anderson said "if one of our cataloguers couldn't identify a person or location in a film, we turned it over to community groups online, and within an hour we'd have our answer". Primarily made by local residents through the training initiative and social enterprise Ballymun Communications, more than 1,000 hours of their community-made footage has been digitised and catalogued. Ollie McGlinchey, long time resident and mainstay of Ballymun Communications said Ballymun Communications was established as a counterpoint to mainstream media misrepresentations of the Ballymun community and to highlight the "multitude of positive news stories emanating from a resilient and vibrant working class community". The digitisation and preservation of the Ballymun Communications Archive was supported by Coimisiún na Meán, and Mr Anderson said that the project is a "powerful reflection" of the IFI's core mission to preserve the film heritage of Ireland. "This project ensures that future generations can engage with, learn from, and be inspired by the lived experiences of communities like Ballymun," he said. Launching this evening at Axis Ballymun, there will be special screenings, live performances and the local community who appear in the films and programmes will be in attendance.
