WATCH: A look at Cork City nearly a century ago in vintage newsreel
"New Cork" is now available to stream on the Irish Film Institute's IFI Archive Player.
This 1927 newsreel presents a ‘New Cork’ following the devastating destruction caused to Cork City during the War of Independence.
The camera travels down Patrick Street, where we see some of the newly rebuilt buildings like Cash’s, Egan’s, Roches Stores, and the Munster Arcade. This construction happened within a few years and helped create new jobs in the city.
The majority of the banks and churches remained unaffected by the troubles and still stand tall as some of the most architecturally beautiful structures in the Rebel County.
The slightly jittery footage from this newsreel was likely captured by mounting the camera on top of a tram as it passed through the city.
"New Cork" is a part of the Irish Film Institute's Irish Independence Film Collection.
The Irish Film Institute's Irish Independence Film Collection
The period 1900-1930 was one of the most turbulent in Irish history, with WWI, the Easter Rising, the War of Independence, and the Irish Civil War all taking place. Due to the emergence of cine camera technology in the 1890s, these three decades are the first to be widely documented on film.
However, Ireland’s lack of indigenous filmmaking during the early part of the last century means the moving image record of this pivotal period in history was predominantly captured by non-Irish agencies. Newsreels of Irish events were screened alongside their home-grown stories in cinemas. In the early part of the 20th century (before the advent of television), newsreels, radio, and newspapers were the predominant ways for the public to keep up to date with important events.
Until recently, these Irish newsreel stories, filmed by British agencies, had not been held in an Irish archive, and many had not been available to the public since their initial distribution 100 years ago. The Decade of Commemorations presented the Irish Film Institute with a unique opportunity to create The Irish Independence Film Collection, comprising Topical budget and British Pathé newsreels, with support from the Dept of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. As part of this project, the IFI repatriated, safeguarded, and shared these important visual documents – centralising them in Ireland for the first time and making them available to the Irish public.
It was essential that the IFI Irish Film Archive repatriated the best quality copy of this remarkable material, which so vividly details the political, social, and cultural events that shaped the Irish State. Thus, the IFI worked closely with the custodians of these collections (the British Film Institute and British Pathé) to ensure the best possible preservation of this material. Acutely aware of the age and fragility of these newsreels, the IFI persuaded both organisations to go back to the original nitrate film prints and meticulously digitise them to HD Quality. The quality of the newly digitised footage is remarkable, allowing even those familiar with this material to see it in a whole new light. Details that were previously indistinct are now crystal clear.
To add further value to the collection, the IFI enlisted the assistance of the National Museum of Ireland and University College Cork. Their staff helped curate and catalogue the content and ensure that the information presented was as accurate as possible, including important events, people, and locations that were originally missed by non-Irish cataloguers. As part of the national centenary celebrations, the Irish Film Institute has created a project that not only celebrates this momentous period in our history but also has lasting value for the Irish public.
"New Cork" is published here thanks to the Irish Film Institute (IFI), with whom IrishCentral has partnered up to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collection entails. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.
To watch more historic Irish footage, visit the IFI Archive Player, the Irish Film Institute’s virtual viewing room that provides audiences around the globe free, instant access to Irish heritage preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. Irish Culture from the last century is reflected through documentaries, animation, adverts, amateur footage, feature films, and much more. You can also download the IFI Archive Player App for free on iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.
IrishCentral has partnered up with them to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collections entail. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.
* Originally published in 2023 and updated in January 2026.
