Ronnie Drew

A time to remember and celebrate the founders of this great group of troubadours, who started it all back in 1962: Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly, Ciarán Bourke and Barney McKenna. These were the originals who lit the flame 50 years ago, and set fire to the world of folk music. For the filming of this DVD, hundreds of old photographs were assembled; audio and video clips were retrieved from the archives to capture the spirit of the group down through the decades. Projected performances from the past played an integral role in this celebration concert. The atmosphere was electric, with music, stories and poetry flowing from reservoirs of memory — a unique collaboration between the original group and the current line-up, a perfect party to celebrate 50 years.

The name of the documentary comes from Drew's recording of "September Song", the Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson song made popular through recordings by a number of artists. With the founding of his revolutionary folk band, The Dubliners in 1962, Ronnie Drew has become synonymous with his native Dublin. September Song (2008) is an intimate portrayal of the legendary singer in which he recalls growing up in his granny's house in Dun Laoghaire, the founding of The Dubliners in O'Donoghue's pub on Merrion Row, his days of touring the world, the poignant loss of his wife of forty years, and his own battle with cancer. Featuring interviews with son Phelim, daughter Cliodhna and friends and fans Bono, Billy Connolly and Damien Dempsey.

Thirteen examples of The Pogues unique brand of hellraising folk, ranging from punky takes on traditional Irish songs like 'Dirty Old Town' to the Shane MacGowan penned originals which offered romanticised visions of life viewed through the bottom of a bottle.

A documentary about the work of Luke Kelly, legendary folk singer with the Dubliners, who died in 1984. Kelly's influence on balladeers has been wide-reaching. Here, his famous contemporaries - like Donovan and Ralph McTell - discuss his art, and the key moments of his development in music. Includes 19 rarely seen live performances, and further contributions by the Dubliners, Damien Dempsey, Paddy Reilly, Jim McCann, Mary Black, Phil Coulter and George Murphy.

Spike Milligan's book about the divided Irish village of Puckoon comes to the big screen.

Based on Irish poet Brendan Behan's experiences in a reform school in 1942. A 16 year-old Irish republican terrorist arrives on the ferry at Liverpool and is arrested for possession of explosives. He is imprisoned in a Borstal in East Anglia, where he is forced to live with his would-be enemies, an experience that profoundly changes his life.

O'Donoghue's Opera is an Irish film starring Ronnie Drew and his bandmates in The Dubliners. The film is a mock opera, based on the ballad "The Night That Larry Was Stretched". It was shot in 1965, but was left uncompleted after the film's production ran into financial difficulties. In 1996 filmmaker Sé Merry Doyle of Loopline film oversaw its restoration, and it was first shown at the Dublin Film Festival in the late 1990s

Irish Folk Band, The Dubliners, guide us through the history of Dublin.

Every Irish rebellion has generated its own collection of songs. At Noon on the 24th of April 1916 the Easter Rising began - a defining moment in Irish history. This commemorative DVD pays special tribute to all Patriots who put their nation's freedom first.