Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
*This programme contains views, information and language that is outdated, and a reflection of the time of broadcast.*
"It's real, and - one has to admit it - it is romantic. It's human and it's got the dimensions of people, and - whatever I may say hereafter - I just really do like it."
The developers have moved in. The tourist promoters, the industrialists, the glossy photographers, the pop-group managers, are tearing the old country apart. In this film, a skeptical James Cameron picks his way through the ruins: "It's a great place for ruins, Ireland."
He speaks to the poet, Richard Murphy, who shares some of Cameron's discomfort about the level of international speculation in the Republic of Ireland, but believes that for many local people it is a necessary evil. The great Irish dramatist Micheál Mac Liammóir discusses the impact that the forced change of language in Ireland has had on the national psyche, and the importance of the government's attempts to reintroduce Gaelic. Cameron then speaks to student priests at Maynooth Seminary, about the challenges facing the Catholic church in Ireland, in the face of such rapid societal change.
Tourism is the second biggest contributor to the Irish economy, Tom O'Driscoll of the Irish Tourist Board speaks to James about the kind of tourists he wants to attract, and the vision of Ireland that is sold to them. The sculptor, Eddie Delaney, feels that the Arts Council talks a good game about promoting Ireland abroad, while failing to support Irish artists in any meaningful sense. Architect Sam Stephenson discusses how the comparative youth of the Republic of Ireland means that change in the country is both inevitable and welcome.
Clip taken from Cameron Country: St Patrick's Progress, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 25 January, 1969.
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*This programme contains views, information and language that is outdated, and a reflection of the time of broadcast.*
"It's real, and - one has to admit it - it is romantic. It's human and it's got the dimensions of people, and - whatever I may say hereafter - I just really do like it."
The developers have moved in. The tourist promoters, the industrialists, the glossy photographers, the pop-group managers, are tearing the old country apart. In this film, a skeptical James Cameron picks his way through the ruins: "It's a great place for ruins, Ireland."
He speaks to the poet, Richard Murphy, who shares some of Cameron's discomfort about the level of international speculation in the Republic of Ireland, but believes that for many local people it is a necessary evil. The great Irish dramatist Micheál Mac Liammóir discusses the impact that the forced change of language in Ireland has had on the national psyche, and the importance of the government's attempts to reintroduce Gaelic. Cameron then speaks to student priests at Maynooth Seminary, about the challenges facing the Catholic church in Ireland, in the face of such rapid societal change.
Tourism is the second biggest contributor to the Irish economy, Tom O'Driscoll of the Irish Tourist Board speaks to James about the kind of tourists he wants to attract, and the vision of Ireland that is sold to them. The sculptor, Eddie Delaney, feels that the Arts Council talks a good game about promoting Ireland abroad, while failing to support Irish artists in any meaningful sense. Architect Sam Stephenson discusses how the comparative youth of the Republic of Ireland means that change in the country is both inevitable and welcome.
Clip taken from Cameron Country: St Patrick's Progress, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 25 January, 1969.
You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.
Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1
You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - bbc.co.uk/archive
