The people and streets of Kilmallock are the stars of this opening sequence to 'Hall's Pictorial Weekly'.
The town of Kilmallock situated in south County Limerick lies near the border with County Cork. Located in the middle of the main street in Kilmallock is a tower house known as King John's Castle or King's Castle, which was remodelled in the 15th Century.
Visible too are the ruins of a Dominican Priory and the medieval town walls. Kilmallock still largely lies within the area once enclosed by the walls. Of the original five gateways into the town only the Blossom Gate on Emmett Street (formerly Blae Street) survives.
Many of the townspeople use bicycles to get about the medieval streets of Kilmallock.
This episode of ‘Hall’s Pictorial Weekly’ was broadcast on 3 January 1974.
Once a week, from June to September, the ‘Hall’s Pictorial Weekly’ film crew would arrive at a town or village in any county in Ireland. They would film the people and the place and return to RTÉ where the footage was edited and put to music.
This short film of around one minute’s duration formed part of the opening sequence for that week’s episode. No one knew which location had been chosen, and it was not advertised as part of the programme billings in the RTÉ Guide or newspapers.
So with this in mind, people the length and breadth of the country unfailingly tuned in, just in case it was the turn of their town or village to have its few minutes of fame.
