Mise Éire was a documentary film telling the story of the
build-up to the 1916 Rising, the growth of Irish nationalism from 1890 and the
key people involved in the movement.
It was directed by George Morrison, who combined existing
archival material to tell the story. As Morrison told RTÉ, it was the first
documentary film to combine newsreel footage, photographic stills, contemporary
documents, graphics, and architectural detail. It also had a soundtrack written
specifically for it by Seán Ó Riada, and which adapted traditional Irish music
for a chamber orchestra.
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| George Morrison editing the second half of Mise Éire 21 September 1960 |
The film proved very popular with the public, and was viewed by 180,000 people in the first year of its release. It was also well received when distributed overseas. Gael Linn sponsored Morrison in his creation of the follow-up to Míse Éire, which was called Saoirse? and concentrated on the War of Independence and the outbreak of the civil war.
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| Soldiers attending Mise Éire 30 November 1960 |
Mise Éire is still available on DVD, and no doubt will be re-released in the run-up to the 1916 commemorations. Clips are available on YouTube, if you would like to find out more about the film, as well as a TG4 documentary on Morrison and the making of Mise Éire.
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