New Film Archive Set for NUI Maynooth

Plans for a new National Irish Film Archive Preservation and Research Centre have been announced by the IFI (Irish Film Institute) The Minister for the Arts, Jimmy Deenihan, was at the launch of these plans . The new centre will be build on the NUI Maynooth campus, this comes on foot of the successful completion of the IFI Irish Film Archive Preservation Fund Campaign.

The IFI, Department of Art, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB/BSÉ) and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), have announced the build of an archive centre at NUI Maynooth a Key partner of the project.

James Hickey, Chief Executive, IFB/BSÉ said "IFB/BSÉ are delighted to support this initiative. The Archive is vitally important in collecting, preserving and documenting Ireland's screen history. The new archive preservation and research centre will ensure that Ireland's film heritage will now be safe and accessible for years to come."

The IFI Irish Film Archive Preservation Fund was launched in November 2011. The IFI was unable to accept more material into its facilities in Temple Bar meaning that precious collections have been in danger of being lost.

The Preservation Fund was setup to raise funds to help with the project's budget. Since then the IFI have raise enough money through the fund to build the new new custom built Irish Film Archive Preservation and Research Centre on the NUI Maynooth campus.

The centre will provide a secure home to the archive and will also allow for research into making such film available more accessible.

Neil Jordan provide prints to the collect of all his films said it is "a great resource" for the storage and preservation of his films. "It's more a preservation thing on their part but it's brilliant for me because otherwise I wouldn't have any copies of them," he said.

Eve-Anne Cullinan, Chairperson of the IFI said: “This exciting project will not only provide a secure home for the IFI Irish Film Archive collections ensuring their safety for the future, but crucially will facilitate research into ways in which digital technology can ensure the collections are widely accessible for many years to come by people in Ireland and internationally.”

Professor Philip Nolan, President of NUI Maynooth, said, “It is a privilege for NUI Maynooth to be involved in the IFI Research and Preservation Centre. The IFI Irish Film Archive offers us unique insights into our culture, history and place in the world, and is a rich source for scholars and educators. We look forward to a long partnership between IFI and NUI Maynooth.”

Michael O’Keeffe, Chief Executive of BAI, said “The BAI is pleased to lend its support to this important initiative. The BAI shares the belief that Ireland’s audiovisual heritage should be preserved and has worked with the IFI Irish Film Archive since 2006 to ensure that all projects funded by the Broadcasting Funding Scheme are archived."