Ballymun's Four Decade Visual Chronicle Preserved in Archive
Ballymun Community Films, a collection of over 40 years of archival video footage, offers a unique and insightful look into the arts, music, education, and regeneration of Ireland’s first and largest high-rise housing development, Ballymun. Established in 1967 to ease overcrowding in Dublin's city centre, the films provide a holistic understanding of the community beyond its reputation as a troubled housing estate.
The collection highlights the vibrant arts and music scene flourishing within Ballymun, illustrating the community's extraordinary spirit, creativity, and resilience. It captures community-led education and employment initiatives, showcasing how local groups actively shaped social and economic development in the area.
The films also document the social challenges historically associated with the housing project, but balance this with the portrayal of Ballymun's rich cultural life not often covered in mainstream media. They chronicle the slow decline and subsequent sweeping regeneration project that dramatically transformed Ballymun’s physical and social landscape.
Thanks to the digitization and preservation of the Ballymun Communications Archive, supported by Coimisiún na Méán, these valuable films are now freely accessible worldwide on the Irish Film Institute (IFI) Archive Player. This archiving process involved close collaboration with local community groups to identify people and locations in the footage, reinforcing community engagement in preserving their own history.
The launch event at Axis Ballymun will feature special screenings, live performances, and community members who appear in the films and programs. This project ensures that future generations can engage with, learn from, and be inspired by the lived experiences of communities like Ballymun.
In summary, Ballymun Community Films offer a rich, community-centered visual history of Ireland’s pioneering high-rise estate, shedding light on local arts, culture, education, and regeneration efforts over four decades.
- The Ballymun Community Films, a precious archive of home-and-garden footage, captures community-led initiatives in arts and culture, providing a vivid portrayal of the creative lifestyle within Ballymun.
- The films present a balanced understanding of Ballymun's past, highlighting not just the social challenges but also the vibrant lifestyle and rich home-and-garden scene that has flourished within the community.
