Kilmore Historical Society is officially screening Father James McHugh’s historic films at a St Patrick’s Day event at Assumption College, which will welcome residents to celebrate dressed in green for the annual day.
The film to be presented at the St Patrick’s Parish event were recorded by Fr McHugh, a former Kilmore Catholic priest, who captured Kilmore’s churches, horse racing, and militia prior to the Second World War during the late 1930s.
Last year Kilmore Historical Society digitised the short films and edited the footage into a long piece, adding a script and vintage music.
The society also called on the community to help identify people in the film so names could be included.
Kilmore Historical Society president Brian Clancy said the society managed to identify a few film stars for the film to be completed.
“One of the posing things was getting all the names to the 56 people, or the locals that joined up for the militia, with their names to appear on the film,” he said.
Although Mr Clancy said he would have preferred to identify more names, he believed there would be a ‘favourable reaction’ at the screening as the film, which highlighted some of Kilmore’s oldest events and recognisable landmarks.
“It’s a bit of Kilmore for everyone,” he said.
“I suppose the whole project is a bit like when someone goes and picks up an old photo that might look interesting, and there’s no names on it or no caption.
“That’s really what we’ve done here, we’ve put names, we put captions, put a story to the material things, and so it’s going to be available for here on eternity.”
Mr Clancy said Fr McHugh would have appreciated such an event where residents could enjoy Irish dancing, a bring-your-own picnic and a best dressed parade, with a prize winner awarded for the best Irish green outfit.
“Father McHugh was a great community man, and he loved big gatherings, and I think the program will be a reckoning, he will be quite impressed with that,” he said.
The St Patrick’s Day event will be at Assumption College’s Neale Daniher Pavilion on Friday, and people can enter via gate one at the college.
Celebrations will begin at 5.30pm, with the bar open from 6pm and the film at 7.30pm.
The film will be available online after the event on Kilmore Historical Society’s YouTube channel.
