Irish Studies

An Irish filmmaker grapples with the legacy of his estranged father, the late American documentarian Arthur MacCaig, through MacCaig's decades-spanning archive of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

When a filmmaker accompanies a celebrated, openly gay poet on one of his many trips to Nepal - where he is revered for his philanthropy and generosity towards young men - she discovers all is not what it seems. A thought-provoking documentary about exploitation, sexual tourism and the developing world.

Abortion is illegal in Ireland. Yet every year, more than 8,000 women travel in secret to England to have abortions. They do so despite the risk of life imprisonment and social stigmatization. Like A Ship in the Night follows three such women as they plan their journeys across the sea.

The voices of women prisoners take us on a journey to Northern Ireland, a journey into and out of prison, a journey of personal and political struggle and growth.

A Call To Arms tells the extraordinary story of the Young Irelanders and the Uprising of 1848 in Ireland. 1848 was a year when all of Europe was in turmoil and Ireland was no exception.

This documentary explores the effects of 150 years of emigration trends on the culture of Ireland. It examines four specific time periods—the 1840s Famine, the turn of the twentieth century, the hostile 1950s, and the 1980s and 1990s, with the emergence of the 'Celtic Tiger' economy.

This historical documentary is a deeply disturbing portrait of Magdalene Asylums run by Catholic nuns in Ireland. For over a hundred years girls and young women were sent to live and work in the Magdalene Asylums’ Laundries after they’d had sexual or 'sinful' contact with men.

This video chronicles the evolution of the paramilitary organizations in Northern Ireland from the time of the "Troubles" through the current tenuous peace process.

Part of a series of documentaries on conflict resolution in the world's trouble spots, offers personal and historical views of the unrest in Northern Ireland from the mid-Sixties to the present day.

Tells the story of Joyce's epic novel, Ulysses, his most famous creation and certainly the most renowned work of fiction of the twentieth century. Filmed in Zurich, Trieste, New York and Dublin, the video portrays Joyce's own trials as a writer, his long struggle with his magnum opus, and his persistence in trying to have his "buke" made available to a mass audience.

This documentary examines the tradition of both the Catholic/Nationalist and Protestant/Loyalist communities in Northern Ireland of painting huge murals on building walls, both as a way to celebrate cultural heroes or commemorate significant historical events as well as to demarcate their respective neighborhoods.

Examines the political turmoil and sectarian violence that has racked Northern Ireland for the last twenty years by profiling the efforts of the Social Democrat and Labor Party (SDLP) to achieve peace in Northern Ireland through nonviolent means.

Each year, an estimated 30 to 55 million women throughout the world obtain induced abortions. More than half of these abortions are illegal and an estimated 84,000 of them result in death. This cross-cultural survey shows how abortion transcends race, religion and social class, and how differences in the practice and perception of abortion are mainly in the degree of secrecy and danger accompanying it.

A provocative look at the Protestant and Catholic churches in Ireland, examining both the myths and realities of their legislative and educational influence on such issues as abortion, contraception, homosexuality, and women's rights.

Portrays the efforts of two men-the Protestant Glen Barr, one-time political advisor to the Ulster Defense Association, and the Catholic Paddy Doherty, former spokesman for the Derry Defense Association-to overcome the bitter enmities of the past with imaginative solutions to the problems of Northern Ireland's second largest city.

"LOVE'S OLD SWEET SONG?" examines the changing status of women in Ireland and the struggle to gain women's rights from the government, the Church, and employers.

"HOLY GROUND?" examines the changing face of Catholicism, including the recent sexual abuse scandals and controversies surrounding contraception, abortion, and the role of women in the Church.

"Ireland's Other Protestants" examines the status of Protestants in the Republic of Ireland and the perceptions of Northern Protestants about their co- religionists.

Novelist Peter Quinn hosts this documentary on Irish immigration into New York City in the mid-nineteenth century. The video visits the NYC locations described in Quinn's novel, The Banished Children of Eve, combining historical photos from the 1860's with remnants of the buildings in the 1990's.

This musical biography is a documentary-style recreation of the life of Thomas Moore (1779-1852), Ireland's greatest national lyric poet, whose melodies and poems were revered throughout 19th-century Europe.