IFI20: IFI Irish Film Archive Pop-Up Museum & Tours

Have you ever sat in the IFI beer garden and wondered what goes on behind that magical locked door emblazoned with the words IFI Irish Film Archive? Well wonder no more. To celebrate our 20 years in Temple Bar we are throwing open the doors of the IFI Irish Film Archive to let you come in a see what we do!  

IFI Irish Film Archive

For two days only the Tiernan MacBride Library is being transformed into a Pop up Museum, full of interesting exhibits from our collections, chosen by our staff. Items from our Document collection were picked by our Librarian Rebecca Grant and  include a letter from Steven Spielberg to Jim Sheridan, designs for Neil Jordan’s Interview with the Vampire; including sketches of other actors who were considered for the lead roles, which were finally played by Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise (you’ll have to come in to see who they are!) and documents from the Horgan Picture Palace in Youghal which opened in 1917. You can also see a beautiful projector from that cinema which is on display in the Library.  

For those of you with technical leanings, Collections Officer Gavin Martin has selected an array of wonderful machines from the Archive’s equipment collection for you to enjoy, these include a Paillard-Bolex Model G 916 Projector, a Zeiss Ikon Movielux  Standard 8mm Projector and a Crown 8 E3 8mm Cine Camera.

The Pop up Museum will be open from 11.00 to 17.00 on Thur and Fri (September 13th - 14th), drop in and speak to our two curators about the items they picked and the collections they were selected from.

We will also be running daily tours of the Archive, to give you an opportunity to see how we go about looking after the 26,000 cans of film we care for on behalf of the nation.  Our team of archivists will be on hand to show you  our climate controlled vaults, the processes involved in cataloguing and preserving film and to explain a little bit about why our work is so important. Tours will be on a first come first served basis, all you need to do is turn up at the IFI reception area at either 11.00, or 15.30 on Thursday the 13th or Friday the 14th.

We’re looking forward to meeting you!

Kasandra O'Connell

Head of IFI Irish Film Archive


The Pop Up Museum will be open all day on Thursday, Sept 13th & Friday, Sept 14th in the Tiernan MacBride Library at the IFI; no tickets required.

The Archive Tours will start at set times (11.00 and 15.30) on Thursday, September 13th and Friday, 14th. They are on a first come first served basis, no need to book. 

This event is part of IFI20: Celebrating 20 Years in Temple Bar.