Irish Voices

Directed by Arthur MacCaig

After the Bloody Sunday massacre of 1972, the British government curtailed radio and television access for the IRA and its supporters in an attempt to “deny terrorists the oxygen of publicity.” However, there were odd loopholes in this endeavor. News reports, for instance, were allowed to show the face of Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein’s president, but could not broadcast his voice. To get around this, actors were hired to lip sync Adams’s words. Featuring interviews with Adams, journalists, and one of Adams’s myriad “voices,” IRISH VOICES is a unique introduction into the media war that was part of the Irish struggle. — Anthology Film Archives