Identity Statement
| Title | Tiernan MacBride Document Collection |
| Archive Reference | IE IFA/2 |
| Web Link to this Entry | https://iar.ie/archive/tiernan-macbride-document-collection |
| Creation Dates | 1974-1994 |
| Extent Medium | 12 boxes of paper material + 7 stills |
Context
Creator(s): Tiernan MacBride
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Administrative History ↴
Tiernan MacBride was born in Dublin, the son of politician Sean MacBride and grandson of revolutionary Maude Gonne MacBride. MacBride grew up at Roebuck House, Clonskeagh, Co. Dublin. He studied architecture at University College Dublin in the 1950s, and after university went on to work for Arks Advertising Agency in Dublin. He left Ireland in 1965 to work in advertising in New York and Detroit before returning to join the television department of McConnells Advertising. He later formed his own company, Advertising on Film. In 1978 MacBride directed Christmas Morning, a seven-minute short feature-style film which he believed was the first to be produced in Ireland with a fully Irish crew. He was heavily involved with the fledgling Irish film industry, and was integral in setting up the first Irish Film Board (established 1982), and Film Base (1986), as well as acting as Chairman of the film branch of the former ITGWU (Irish Transport and General Workers' Union), Chairman of AIP (Association of Independent Producers Ireland), and Chairman of the Irish Film Theatre. He also helped to establish the Irish Film Centre (1992 – later the Irish Film Institute). In 1985 when Advertising on Film closed, MacBride turned his attention to feature-length films with the creation of his new company Roebuck Moving Pictures. He acted as executive producer on Alan Gilsenan’s Eh Joe (1986) and Bob Quinn’s Budawanny (1987) and directed Gold and Glory – The Vikings in Ireland (1989). Roebuck Moving Pictures’ first feature, Nora (2000), which he was slated to produce was in preproduction when he died suddenly in 1995 at the age of 63. From 2001-2006 the annual Tiernan MacBride International Screenwriting Award was given in his honour, hosted by the Irish Film Institute. -
Archival History ↴
Donation -
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴
Donation
Content & Structure
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Scope & Content: Tiernan MacBride ↴
The collection consists of material spanning MacBride’s career, from his advertising work to feature film production.
Advertising related material includes production notes for both his American and Irish advertising campaigns, such as Pontiac, Cadillac, DOW, Guinness, Hibernian Life, Farleys, Tipperary Spring Water and the Irish Press, as well as programmes and correspondence for the Irish Advertising awards.
Feature related material includes extensive correspondence and production related documents for Budawanny, Gold and Glory, Sean MacBride Remembers and in particular Christmas Morning as well as correspondence and screenplays for unproduced films Ciara, The Model Stroke, The Stolen Republic and Fire in a Concrete Box.From MacBride’s involvement in human rights campaigning there is press material, minutes and correspondence for the Birmingham Six Parade of Innocence and the Sallins Enquiry Campaign.
Relating to his chairmanship of various organisations, there are also correspondence and minutes relating to the Irish Film Theatre; accounts, balances, reports and correspondence from the Film Producers’ Association of the ITGWU (Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union); correspondence and minutes from the Film Producers Association/Association of Independent Producers Ireland (later Association of Independent Filmmakers), including letters from Kevin Moriarty and Sheamus Smith of Ardmore Studios, as well as the Arts Council and RTE; discussion of the Film Board Bill, and correspondence regarding the AIPI boycott of the Irish Film Board. Also present is 1990s correspondence with Michael D. Higgins, newly elected Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, and Department of the Taoiseach Working Group on the Film Production Industry.MacBride’s business diaries from the 1970s-1990s are also held.
Stills from Sean MacBride Remembers are catalogued in the Stills Collection. -
Appraisal Destruction ↴
Permanent Retention -
Arrangement ↴
The collection consists of material spanning MacBride’s career, from his advertising work to feature film production.
Advertising related material includes production notes for both his American and Irish advertising campaigns, such as Pontiac, Cadillac, DOW, Guinness, Hibernian Life, Farleys, Tipperary Spring Water and the Irish Press, as well as programmes and correspondence for the Irish Advertising awards.
Feature related material includes extensive correspondence and production related documents for Budawanny, Gold and Glory, Sean MacBride Remembers and in particular Christmas Morning as well as correspondence and screenplays for unproduced films Ciara, The Model Stroke, The Stolen Republic and Fire in a Concrete Box.From MacBride’s involvement in human rights campaigning there is press material, minutes and correspondence for the Birmingham Six Parade of Innocence and the Sallins Enquiry Campaign.
Relating to his chairmanship of various organisations, there are also correspondence and minutes relating to the Irish Film Theatre; accounts, balances, reports and correspondence from the Film Producers’ Association of the ITGWU (Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union); correspondence and minutes from the Film Producers Association/Association of Independent Producers Ireland (later Association of Independent Filmmakers), including letters from Kevin Moriarty and Sheamus Smith of Ardmore Studios, as well as the Arts Council and RTE; discussion of the Film Board Bill, and correspondence regarding the AIPI boycott of the Irish Film Board. Also present is 1990s correspondence with Michael D. Higgins, newly elected Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, and Department of the Taoiseach Working Group on the Film Production Industry.MacBride’s business diaries from the 1970s-1990s are also held.
Stills from Sean MacBride Remembers are catalogued in the Stills Collection.
Conditions of Access & Use
| Access Conditions | Accessible at the Irish Film Archive with an appointment. |
| Conditions Governing Reproduction | Copyright and other restrictions may apply. |
| Creation Dates | 1974-1994 |
| Extent Medium | 12 boxes of paper material + 7 stills |
| Material Language Script | English |
| Characteristics Tech Req | The collection is in good condition. |
| Finding Aids | Electronic catalogue Archive Web Link → |
Allied Materials
| Related Material | Copies of related films, including Christmas Morning, Sean MacBride Remembers, Budawanny, Eh Joe and Nora are also held at the Archive. |
Descriptive Control Area
| Archivist Note | Rebecca Grant |
| Rules/Conventions | ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000. |
| Date of Descriptions | 2009 |