Carley’s Bridge Potteries - No. 19

This film features the workings of Ireland's oldest pottery, in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, founded by two brothers called ‘Kerley’ in 1659. The process starts with the digging and curing of clay. We see Paddy Murphy, whose family has worked there for generations, hand-throwing flowerpots, and large decorative earthenware vessels with his strong, skillful hands. The dry pots are stacked in coal-fired beehive kilns for the dramatic firing process. From start to finish it takes a week.     Made in 1980.

Commentary- Ray Mc Anally; Music- Jolyon Jackson; Paddy Glacken & Matt Molloy;     Running time - 26 minutes

Belleek Potteries - No. 20

This is an hour-long film, made to celebrate Beleek’s 150 year anniversary. It features the history and work of Belleek Potteries, o­ne of Ireland's best-loved companies. Using the native kaolin clay and feldspar (flint clay & shale), the craftspeople of Belleek have produced fine Parian china and Earthenware in Co. Fermanagh since 1857. We see the making of delicate floral baskets, figurines and decorative pieces in slip-cast Parian china, using skilled techniques such as fettling and modelling. The rich history of Belleek Potteries is seen in the museum examples shown in the film.     Made in 1987.

Commentary- Benedict Kiely; Music- Jolyon Jackson;     Running time - 1 hour

Clay pipe works - No. 21

This fascinating documentary set in Lossets, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan captures the craftsmanship of the Irish Fireclays and Stoneware Company, makers of industrial clay drainage pipes. Made from quarried and milled shale, the film follows the craftsmen through the entire production process. We also meet the Kiln-men who supervise the firing of the largest beehive kiln in the British Isles at Kingscourt, Co. Cavan.     Made in 1983.

Commentary- Diarmuid Ó Muirithe; Music- Jolyon Jackson;     Running time - 26 minutes

A Dublin Silversmith - No. 22

Royal Charter Silver, a Dublin-based family business, crafts fine Irish silver based on the 18th. Century Irish Georgian period. The documentary shows master silversmith John Carroll, his son Sean and others making a silver teakettle. It covers it’s intricate design and construction, including the lost wax process, engraving the surface of the kettle before assembly, and final polish, demonstrating the skills and craftsmanship needed to produce fine Silverware.     Made in 1980.

Commentary- Éamonn Mac Thomáis; Music- Jolyon Jackson; Paddy Glacken & Matt Molloy;     Running time - 26 minutes

Powers of the metal - No. 23

*An entertaining and unusual film, it tells the story of the Power family’s metal foundry in New Ross, Co. Wexford. We follow the process of sand casting a replica of a nineteenth-century garden seat, and we see the weekly cycle of hand-digging marl clay to line the foundry’s furnace, the buying in and breaking up of scrap metal for smelting, followed by the high-risk business of pouring the molten metal, over-seen by Mrs. May Power. The documentary is accompanied by music played by the local youth band.     Made in 1989.

Commentary- Diarmuid Ó Muirithe; Music- New Ross Silver Band; Conductor Michael Fottrell; 
*Certificate of Merit from the Industrial Film Festival in the USA;     Running time - 26 minutes

Stone - No. 24

There is a long tradition of working with stone in Ireland. This film documents the lifestyle and work of quarrymen and stonecutters at Ticknock, Co. Dublin, and Ballyknockan, Co. Wicklow. Skilled masons and carvers cut the famous Irish granite for the statues and façade of the Bank of Ireland, College Green in the heart of Dublin City. It includes the laying of cobblestones in Trinity College, Dublin, and the carving of a decorative Georgian-style mantelpiece. This film captures some of the last quarrymen working the granite quarries which have sadly gone into subsequent decline.     Made in 1981.

Commentary- Éamonn Mac Thomáis; Music- Terry Odlum;     Running time - 26 minutes