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The Republican Loan film (1919)

The Republican Loan film.
Length: 7 minutes.

Jim Sullivan (see his films) and John MacDonagh made this appeal film for the 1919 Republican Loan for the new self-declared Irish Republic.
Jim Sullivan's brother-in-law, James O'Mara, was one of the three trustees of the funds of the underground Irish government, and one of its main fund-raisers.
Sullivan and MacDonagh made this short film while making "Willy Reilly and his Colleen Bawn".
This film was directed by John MacDonagh.
[MacDonagh, 1976] said that: "In those dangerous and exciting times, no cinema owner would dare risk exhibiting the Republican Loans film so it was planned for a few volunteers in fast cars to visit certain cinemas, rush the operator's box, and, at gun-point, force the operator to take off the film he was showing, and put on the Loan film."

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The film

The Republican Loan film was shot at St Enda's.
Michael Collins, the Dail's Minister for Finance, sits at a desk at St. Enda's.
His desk is the block on which Robert Emmet was executed in 1803. (This block is now in Kilmainham Gaol Museum.)
He reads a letter from Michael Fogarty, Bishop of Killaloe, providing a loan to the Republic.
Appearing in the film to loan money to the Republic are, in order:

1. Margaret Pearse, the mother of executed 1916 leader Patrick Pearse.
2. Count Plunkett, the father of executed 1916 leader Joseph Mary Plunkett.
3. Countess Plunkett, the mother of Joseph Mary Plunkett.
4. The mother of executed 1916 rebel Michael O'Hanrahan.
5. The widow of executed 1916 leader Eamonn Ceannt.
6. Kathleen Clarke, the widow of executed 1916 leader Tom Clarke.
7. Nancy Brown, the widow of 1916 leader The O'Rahilly, who was killed in action [2:49 to 2:57].
8. Margaret Pearse, sister of Patrick Pearse.
9. Grace Gifford, the widow of Joseph Mary Plunkett, and sister-in-law of the 1916 leader Thomas MacDonagh (brother of the director John MacDonagh).
10. Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington.
11. The sister of Michael O'Hanrahan.
12. The daughter of executed 1916 leader James Connolly. Presumably Nora Connolly.
13. The widow of 1916 rebel Sean Connolly, who was killed in action.
14. Arthur Griffith.
15. Joseph McGuinness.
16. Eoin MacNeill.
17. Desmond Fitzgerald.
18. Robert Brennan.
19. Fionan Lynch.
20. J.J. O'Kelly.
21. Robert Barton.
22. J.J. Walsh, director of the Film Company of Ireland.
23. Philip Shanahan.
24. Erskine Childers.
25. Joseph MacDonagh, TD, headmaster of St.Enda's, and brother of the director John MacDonagh and the 1916 leader Thomas MacDonagh.
26. Sean Milroy.
27. Richard Hayes.
28. The widow of executed 1916 rebel Michael Mallin.
29. W.T. Cosgrave [6:20 to 6:29].

Then there is a final shot of Arthur Griffith.

The steps of St. Enda's are unchanged today.
Photo 2005. Public domain image from here.

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• Frank McNally, An Irishman's Diary, Irish Times, 22 Aug 2012, refers to this page.

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