“Liffey Faces” is now available to stream for free via the Irish Film Institute’s IFI Archive Player.
Filmed during the summer of 1968, “Liffey Faces” traces the journey of a small toy boat down the river Liffey.
“As it makes its way from Kippure to Poolbeg, we witness a host of water-based antics including the Liffey Descent (a canoe marathon race), rowing at Islandbridge, the Liffey Swim, and the Ringsend Regatta.
"Liffey Faces" is part of the Irish Film Institute's Guinness Film Society Film Group Collection.
The Irish Film Institute's Guinness Film Society Film Group Collection
The Guinness Film Society Film Group was an amateur filmmaking group set up in February 1968 when Mike Lawlor, then Chairman of the Society, proposed its establishment to the Committee. The Guinness Film Society, in existence since the early 1950s, was one of a number of film societies that brought independent and auteur cinema to Irish audiences.
At its next public screening, Lawlor addressed the audience and invited anyone interested in making films to join the Group.
Core members of the Guinness Film Society Film Group included Guinness colleagues John Gleeson (editing and camera), Tony Corcoran (research and sound), and Mike Lawlor (producer), as well as Ries Hoek (director of photography), a Dutch commercial artist with an interest in filmmaking and a 16mm Bolex camera.
They completed four films in four years: "Liffey Faces" (1969), a charming film following the journey of a toy yacht down the length of the Liffey to Dublin Bay; "Ciall Cheannaigh" (1969), a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the first suburban shopping centre in Ireland; "The Birth of the Emerald Star Line" (1970), a promotional film about a new Guinness subsidiary offering cabin cruisers for hire on the River Shannon, and "Emerald Shannon" (1971), which follows a family on their cruise along the river.
In 2022, the IFI Irish Film Archive meticulously restored three of the group’s four films. This restoration programme has been supported by the Heritage Council and Dublin Port Company.
"Liffey Faces" is published here thanks to the Irish Film Institute (IFI), who IrishCentral has partnered up with to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collection entails. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.
To watch more historic Irish footage, visit the IFI Archive Player, the Irish Film Institute’s virtual viewing room that provides audiences around the globe free, instant access to Irish heritage preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. Irish Culture from the last century is reflected through documentaries, animation, adverts, amateur footage, feature films, and much more. You can also download the IFI Archive Player App for free on iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.
IrishCentral has partnered up with the IFI to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collections entail. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.
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