Irish pioneers in photography, cinema, and animation explored in TG4 doc

"Na Lumière Gaelacha," a new documentary on the Horgan brothers, will air on TG4 on December 26, St. Stephen's night.

Produced and directed by Darina Clancy of Cormorant Films, the documentary had its sold-out world premiere at the 69th Cork International Film Festival.

"Na Lumière Gaelacha" takes you into the magical world of three brothers, James (Jim), Thomas (Tom) and Philip (Phil) Horgan. Three boys from Youghal Co Cork, they saw a spark of ingenuity in Europe at the turn of the 20th century and rose from poverty to become pioneers in image capturing, photography, cinema and animation in Ireland.

The Horgan Brothers Collection is now one of the most important and oldest collections in Ireland. Their story, while recognized in academic circles, has never been told.

Narrated by Carrie Crowley ("An Cailín Ciúin"), this documentary will bring you back to a time when image capture was unique, experimental, exciting and unfamiliar; A time when things began to be seen from a different point of view – when magic art and science mixed to bring us one of the most contemporary art forms, which we now call film.

From their earliest experiments with photographic manipulation, including stereo pairs, portrait, landscape and social historical photography, to their travelling magic lantern shows, films & development processes, the brothers would pioneer newsreels and the earliest Irish animation, far ahead of Disney.

James Horgan with his camera kit. Copyright The Horgan Family.

Featuring first-hand affectionate stories from Horgan descendants and supported by expert contributions, the Horgan Brothers’ story will be brought to life through their own precious restored archive and family artefacts including original Horgan glass slides and their own camera. The great, great grandchildren of James Horgan feature in many of the Edwardian style re constructions which bring us right into the Horgan Brothers world.

Experts, such as Lord David Puttnam, will guide us through the lives of the Horgans, explaining the significance of the brothers’ work. They achieved something magical through pioneering this contemporary artform, capturing the history of their small hometown and providing hours of entertainment.

We’ll see what sets them apart from others around the world as they begin to build their own cameras, filming horse racing and Kings to opening one of the first cinemas in Ireland (prompted by Henry Ford) and ultimately creating the oldest existing ever animation in Ireland.

Filmed in East Cork and West Waterford, Na Lumière Gaelacha features actors from Brideview Drama club, Youghal Musical Society, The Killeagh Monday Club and local entertainers. This documentary was funded by TG4, Coimisiún na Meán, Cork County Council, Youghal Credit Union and UCC.

"Na Lumière Gaelacha" will air on TG4 on Thursday, December 26 at 9.10pm.