A Tour of a Rural Irish Village – Shinrone, Co. Offaly, Ireland 1967

June 7, 2025 Admin Old Ireland

<h2>A Tour of a Rural Irish Village – Shinrone, Co. Offaly, Ireland 1967</h2> The village of Shinrone was the location for a television experiment attempting to show life in a rural Irish community. Beginning in April 1964 Telifís Eireann filmed life in the village of Shinrone, County Offaly for a series called ‘Our Parish’. Filming took place three or four nights a week over a number of weeks. In terms of television coverage that village must have become unique in Europe, possibly in the whole world, because nowhere else has such a small community been exposed to such exploration on the television screens of the country. Three years later John Skehan and the ‘Discovery’ team returned to Shinrone to see what changes had taken place if any. Has it recovered from the television siege it underwent three years ago? The programme uses footage and interviews that were shot in 1964 intercut with Skehan’s interviews in 1967. An Irish country village, hardly any different at first sight from a thousand others. On the surface, there appears to have been little change, but when you dig a little deeper you discover that change has occurred, some for the betterment of the village and some for the community’s loss. The village medical officer Dr PJ Doyle has since passed away. In 1964 Dr Doyle had described Shinrone as A naturally healthy place. Today a village memorial marks the community’s loss and pays tribute to Dr Doyle. Dr Doyle is not buried in Shinrone as the village still has no cemetery. In the three years since the cameras were last in Shinrone some positive changes have taken place including a new Garda barracks. There is also hope that the 80-year-old national school will soon be replaced by a more modern building. Work practices are also changing in the village. John Skehan meets Shinrone blacksmith Joe Cleare who sees no future for the craft of the blacksmith. This episode of ‘Discovery’ was broadcast on 27 April 1967. The reporter is John Skehan. Credit to : CR’s Video Vaults

Please support our Sponsors here --