George Morrison remembered as ‘titan of Irish film’

Film director George Morrison was described as a titan of the Irish film world by Cork composer Peadar Ó Riada following yesterday’s announcement of the movie-maker’s death at the age of 102.

Mr Morrison was the director of the first ever feature length film in Irish, Mise Éire, the 1959 documentary about Ireland’s revolutionary period which featured a score composed by Seán Ó Riada, Peadar’s father.

“His constant striving to find new ways to show and explain streaks of life on film was wonderful to watch,” said Peadar Ó Riada.

“His collecting and assembling the earliest pieces of soundless film from the turn of 19th to 20th century, and crafting them into the film Mise Éire — where both he and my father had to create a sound to go with the images — was momentous.

“But he continued innovating.

“Examples are his film and equipment assembly made for the proposed Irish presence for the Canadian Expo 67 (predictive of Google Earth), his film scripts right up to the end on Joyce and Dublin, and his teaching and advising young filmmakers up to very recent times.

“He was a great man.

“It was a privilege to have called him a friend since the ‘60s. His Wicklow parents would have been very proud of him and rightly so.”

Mr Morrison hailed from Tramore, Co Waterford, and his death occurred on Saturday. In a statement, President Michael D Higgins said the documentary-maker would “remain an iconic and foundational figure in Irish filmography”.

“A filmmaker of immense craft and skill, he will rightly be remembered in particular as a great innovator in the techniques of film, using new and pioneering camera work while realising how film and music could be brought together in a way that is distinctive,” said Mr Higgins.

“His seminal works, including Mise Éire and Saoirse, as well as his many other films including his early partnership with the Gate Theatre, comprise an outstanding body of work that has made a deep and lasting impact on Irish culture and Irish cultural memory.”