The story behind 'Irish Destiny' a film from the silent era set during the War of Independence.
Irish Destiny was written by Isaac Eppel and directed by George Dewhurst. The film, which includes newsreel footage of the Black and Tans and the burning of Cork, was released in 1926. The silent film was largely forgotten until the 1980s, when two film posters were discovered under lino in an old Dublin house.
An international search for the film began and a print was discovered in the Library of Congress in Washington. Sunniva O'Flynn, curator at the Irish Film Archive, describes the challenging work that was undertaken to restore and preserve the film. The nitrate print of the film was sent to a specialist laboratory in California, where duplicates were made. The restoration included work on sequences that had been hand-tinted and hand-toned originally.
Irish Destiny is now being released on DVD with a musical score composed for the film by Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. A special screening of the film, accompanied by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, is taking place at the National Concert Hall in Dublin.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 16 March 2006. The reporter is Joe O'Brien.
