Alive Alive O, A réquiem for Dublin
Director Sé Merry Doyle
Countries Ireland
Duration 55 min
Synopsis
Sé Merry Doyle's 'Alive Alive O - A Requiem For Dublin' is a one-hour documentary journeying deep into the psyche of Dublin Street Traders and chronicles how an extraordinary culture becomes increasingly overshadowed by the scourge of heroin. Shot in stages over many years, the documentary contains rare archive, including a young U2 as they play an inner-city benefit concert, the maverick politician Tony Gregory around the time he went to jail because of his support for Street Traders who were being arrested on a daily basis for selling on the streets of Dublin. As we watch the destruction of the old houses of Dublin’s Inner City and the closure of its most famous market ‘The Iveagh’ we are reminded how rampant speculation has destroyed the heart of this once proud city. 'Alive Alive O - A Requiem to Dublin' could be construed as a grim reminder of all we have so carelessly discarded in the heated pursuit of a glitzy new city. However, equally important to the film, is the portrayal of the staunch character and true-grit of the inner-city "Dub", the tragic nature of which is enhanced by the haunting narrative of poet Paula Meehan and the voice of Frank Harte as he sings some of Dublin's best known traditional ballads, ‘Alive Alive O’. The film was premiered at the 2001 Cork Film Festival and has since won an award at the Galway Film Fleadh as well as being screened at the Bilbao Film Festival - Spain, the Berlin Ethno Film Festival in Germany.
Sé Merry Doyle's 'Alive Alive O - A Requiem For Dublin' is a one-hour documentary journeying deep into the psyche of Dublin Street Traders and chronicles how an extraordinary culture becomes increasingly overshadowed by the scourge of heroin. Shot in stages over many years, the documentary contains rare archive, including a young U2 as they play an inner-city benefit concert, the maverick politician Tony Gregory around the time he went to jail because of his support for Street Traders who were being arrested on a daily basis for selling on the streets of Dublin. As we watch the destruction of the old houses of Dublin’s Inner City and the closure of its most famous market ‘The Iveagh’ we are reminded how rampant speculation has destroyed the heart of this once proud city. 'Alive Alive O - A Requiem to Dublin' could be construed as a grim reminder of all we have so carelessly discarded in the heated pursuit of a glitzy new city. However, equally important to the film, is the portrayal of the staunch character and true-grit of the inner-city "Dub", the tragic nature of which is enhanced by the haunting narrative of poet Paula Meehan and the voice of Frank Harte as he sings some of Dublin's best known traditional ballads, ‘Alive Alive O’. The film was premiered at the 2001 Cork Film Festival and has since won an award at the Galway Film Fleadh as well as being screened at the Bilbao Film Festival - Spain, the Berlin Ethno Film Festival in Germany.