Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive is a free public access resource for teachers, students, historians and anyone who has an interest in moving images. Spanning from 1897 to the present day, the films in the Digital Film Archive cover all aspects of life in Northern Ireland and includes everything from dramas to documentaries, newsreels and features, animation to amateur footage.
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Curragh to Iona
Join a fearless crew on a spiritual maritime adventure from the shores of Derry to Iona.
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Overview
This spiritual quest, funded by the Church of Ireland to commemorate the 14th centenary of St.Columba’s journey of self-exile, took four years to prepare. The narrator Wallace Clark was an insatiable seafarer and talented skipper who motivated this fearless crew to brave the 100 mile journey in a simple canvas covered boat. He regarded this voyage as the highlight of his life. Cannon John Barry said ‘there was not one of us who would not sail with him to the edge of the world’.
This film by E. T. Green is courtesy of Waddell Media. Watch ‘St Columba’ on the BFI player to discover more about the life of the tempestuous saint and experience the pilgrims' voyage to greet this crew at the end of its journey. This tradition of re-enacting historic voyages continues in Ireland with seafaring currachs like Bovinda built by the Boyne Currach Heritage Group. Wallace Clark went on to participate in a restaging of the Brendan voyage and this journey to Iona was replicated by a new generation in the Colmcille Curragh during 1997.
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