Bodhrán

Two film shorts featuring the music of Seán Ó Riada from the Irish Film Institute.

The Irish Riviera

This early example of a state-sponsored promotional film made to entice visitors to the sunny south coast briefly visits Cork City and lingers at the remote outposts of Mizen Head, Garnish, the Blasket Islands (then inhabited), and Dunquin. As well as highlighting Ireland’s rural charms, the film is also insistent in emphasing Ireland’s ‘continental atmosphere’ and industrial development.

1936/BW/10 mins

Bodhrán

Handmade in cottages around the country; beaten by Wren Boys from Killorglin to Stephen’s Green; gently played by hearthside revellers in Coolea (including Ruth O Riada, mother of Peadar) and beloved of festival goers in Listowel and Leitrim, the humble Bodhrán provides the steady heartbeat of traditional Irish music.

Tom Hayes, 28 mins, 1973, Irish with no subtitles