Have you ever driven or cycled or walked through a small town and wondered how it got there? Who laid the first building stone?
Have you ever driven or cycled or walked through a small town and wondered how it got there? Who laid the first building stone? Who developed those old warehouses? Who built that great house that overlooks the river?
Oldport to Newport, An historical journey, will answer these questions and more.
Who developed those old warehouses? Who built that great house that overlooks the river?
The documentary recounts the story of Newport, Co. Mayo, from its origin as the old port of Burrishoole, a few miles west of the present town and explores a number of themes such as:
The early Christian anchorites through to the arrival of the Dominican order and the construction of St. Mary's Friary at Burrishoole
The advent of the Norman families, especially the DeBurgo
The early Christian anchorites through to the arrival of the Dominican order and the construction of St. Mary's Friary at Burrishoole.
The development of the town of Newport by Captain Pratt and the Medlicottes
The Year of the French, 1798
The famine
The success of Martin Carey as a business man
The arrival of the light railway from Westport to Achill
The War of Independence
The subsequent Civil War
The documentary ends as the town emerges into the late 1930's
Famine History of the area.
This documentary was researched, written and filmed by Purple Foxglove Films, a partnership of film maker Tommy Hughes and historian Joe McDermott both from Newport. It has a running time of over one hour.
