Hail Glorious St. Patrick! The IFI celebrates with three specially selected classic films

The IFI is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day throughout March with an IFI Family screening of Flight of the Doves and a special programme of Archive at Lunchtime: Hail Glorious St. Patrick and Ireland in Spring.

Flight of the Doves, our monthly IFI Family screening, is a lively 1971 adaptation of Walter Macken’s novel and is presented in association with the St Patrick’s Festival. In this heartwarming, funny and often suspenseful story, two runaways, Finn and Derval Dove flee from a cruel British stepfather to their Irish grandmother in Galway. Along the way they encounter a host of evil characters (many of them played by Ron Moody) and have some fun at a St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The films most memorable musical number is the haunting Far Off Place sung by Sheila, a peasant girl, played by young Dana Rosemary Scallon, fresh from her Eurovision success.

The Archive at Lunchtime series, running a selection of short films from the Irish Film Archive, continues throughout March with Hail Glorious St. Patrick and Ireland in Spring. Hail Glorious St. Patrick documents the festivities during the Patrician Year of 1961 with parades, masses, exhibitions and the visit of the Papal Legate. Ireland in Spring by Colm O Laoghaire brings back memories of the now defunct An Tóstal festival that encouraged tourists to visit during the Easter off-season. The film features a parade in Dublin, the pageant of St. Patrick in Croke Park and a range of sporting and musical events around the country.

IFI Family: The Flight of the Doves         
Sunday March 14th 11am

Archive at Lunchtime                                
Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturday 27th March

 (Check programme or website for full schedule)

Tickets are available from the IFI Box Office in person, on 01 679 3477, or online at www.ifi.ie. Tickets are €5 for the IFI Family screening or family tickets for €15. Archive at Lunchtime is free but ticketed.