“One Million Souls" at the Bettendorf Public Library -- October 11.
Wednesday, October 11, 6 p.m.
Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf IA
Hailed by the Irish Times as "a dauntingly comprehensive and beautifully filmed study," director Aoife Kelleher's 2014 documentary One Million Dubliners serves as the third screening in the Bettendorf Public Library's Global Gathering Ireland film series, the October 11 screening exposing viewers to the national necropolis that is Ireland's Glasnevin Cemetery, the final resting place for 1.5 million souls.
Prior to the establishment of Glasnevin Cemetery, Irish Catholics had no cemeteries of their own in which to bury their dead, and, as the repressive Penal Laws of the eighteenth century placed heavy restrictions on the public performance of Catholic services, it had become normal practice for Catholics to conduct a limited version of their own funeral services in Protestant churchyards or graveyards. This situation continued until an incident at a funeral held at St. Kevin's Churchyard in 1823 provoked public outcry when a Protestant sexton reprimanded a Catholic priest for proceeding to perform a limited version of a funeral mass. The outcry prompted Daniel O'Connell, champion of Catholic rights, to launch a campaign and prepare a legal opinion proving that there was actually no law passed forbidding praying for a dead Catholic in a graveyard. O'Connell pushed for the opening of a burial ground in which both Irish Catholics and Protestants could give their dead dignified burial.
Glasnevin Cemetery was consecrated and opened to the public for the first time on February 21, 1832. The first burial, that of 11-year-old Michael Carey from Dublin's Francis Street, took place on the following day in a section of the cemetery known as Curran's Square. The cemetery was initially known as Prospect Cemetery, a name chosen from the townland of Prospect, which surrounded the cemetery lands. Besides the famous interred at Glasnevin, nearly 800,000 people have been buried in Glasnevin in unmarked mass graves due to the death toll from the Great Famine of the 1840s and a later cholera epidemic. Originally covering nine acres of ground, the area of the cemetery has now grown to approximately 124 acres. This includes its expansion on the southern side of the Finglas Road with the section called St. Paul's. The option of cremation has been provided since March of 1982.
Released in 2014, One Million Dubliners reveals the often unspoken stories of ritual, loss, redemption, emotion, history, and business of death. But this is really a film about life: the Saint Valentine's Day rush in the florists; the American visitors eagerly searching for Irish ancestors; lost and longed for love; discovery and bereavement; earthy gravediggers and musicians in celebration. Above all, it's the story of an immensely engaging Tour Guide shepherding his charges, and us, through the headstones and monuments, through opinions and beliefs. Filled with the familiar and the fascinating, this is a documentary that offers a glimpse into the unknown, into a world we will all come to share. Often humorous, always affecting, One Million Dubliners explores life, death and the afterlife, and ends in a way that will stay with you forever. Even in a cemetery, you never quite get used to death.
With the 2023 Global Gathering Ireland funded by the Bettendorf Public Library Foundation and supported by title sponsor Northwest Bank & Trust and presenting sponsor the Iowa American Water Company, One Million Dubliners will be screened on October 11 at 6 p.m., admission to the movie is free, and more information is available by calling (563)344-4175 and visiting BettendorfLibrary.com.
