Through Ulster

From the collection of

Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive
Launched in 2000, Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive spans from 1897 to the present day and currently contains an ever-expanding catalogue of 13,000 items. It comprises material from a variety of depositors including feature films, sport, documentaries, animation, amateur footage, light entertainment, and a significant proportion of broadcast material from the UTV Archive.

Through Ulster


An Ulster Dairy Queen has a difficult decision to make between contestants at a Bangor NSPCC fête. Meanwhile in Belfast, pedestrians and buses dance to the traffic warden's tune.

Celebrate homemade craft and play. See what you can spot as worthy competitors line up for the Fancy dress parade. Then it's off to the starting line of the soapbox derby. Around Belfast City Hall traffic wardens in white cuffs choreograph a ballet of vibrant trolley buses and lively pedestrians. Elsewhere people in the Botanic Gardens wander at their own pace. There is just enough time left to admire the Tudor Gothic grandeur of Queen's University by Sir Charles Lanyon.

Charles Lanyon created many of Belfast's architectural icons. His other works include Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast Castle and the Palm house in Botanic Gardens. Watch the full version of ‘Through Ulster' and see if you can spot the ingenious zebra crossing fancy dress costume. Originally produced by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board these rushes come from the collection of National Museums Northern Ireland. This government department was particularly busy in the mid-1950s to late 1960s, creating films that aimed to sell the region as a holiday destination. This material captures Northern Ireland at an intriguing time, post-World War Two and pre-Troubles.


Tags