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.
This film is part of Free
Ulster - Behind the Headlines
Will level headedness triumph? Hear how the peace and good neighbourliness of one town contrasts with the violence and tension prevalent elsewhere in Northern Ireland.
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Overview
Listen to the opinions of various professional men as they recount their experience of ‘The Troubles’ so far. The town seems relatively unscathed by the conflict and the overall impression is of a largely integrated and harmonious place. Despite the escalation of violence elsewhere, there is still hope that tensions will not disintegrate this community. Downpatrick’s level head approach is not unique. But will it be enough to ‘cool the hot tempers’ in the years to come?
Filmed in 1970, just two years before the first recorded fatalities in Downpatrick took place when a premature bomb explosion at the racecourse grandstand killed two members of the Provisional IRA. This material was produced by the Central Office of Information and comes from the BFI collection. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
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