New Visions in Ireland in 1948: Clann na Poblachta and Our Country

Résumé 0

The period covered by this paper will range from the creation of Clann na Poblachta in 1946 to the outcome of the 1947-8 campaign. In the first part, we will focus on Clann na Poblachta and Our Country, a documentary film commissioned by Clann na Poblachta in November 1947, in relation to the term 'vision'. The explicit reference to the term by one of the commentators in the film, its wide use over the period in the party's electoral literature and speeches, and the active viewing itself, all contribute to render the choice of the term 'vision' relevant to determine to what extent Clann na Poblachta and Our Country can be considered as new visions in Ireland in 1948. Then, on the basis of a study of the film, its objectives and TV interviews of the party leader and the film directors, the second part will argue that Our Country goes beyond its avowed aim of providing Irish audiences with an impartial documented vision of their country and becomes instead an illustration of a political programme, thus making it an electoral manifesto in visual form, the first of the sort in Ireland. This article was written for a conference of doctoral students at University College Dublin, Ireland, in the course of research conducted under the supervision of Prof. Paul Brennan and Prof. Wesley Hutchinson for the Irish Studies Centre, Paris 3 Sorbonne-Nouvelle in 2005.