THE IRISH FILM Institute (IFI) launched the first volume of the Loopline Collection today, releasing rare footage, documentaries and television programmes from the influential Irish production company.

Founded by filmmaker Sé Merry Doyle in 1992, the collection features full-length features documentaries and televisions productions, preserving 900 hours of footage from the company’s archives. 

The filmmakers at Loopline covered a range of topics in the collection, from documentaries on the epidemic of drugs in inner city Dublin (Alive Alive O: A Requiem for Dublin), to an elderly woman’s fight for her home against developers (Essie’s Last Stand).

Also released is rare footage of band U2 that Merry Doyle took in 1982 of the iconic Irish rockers playing on Sheriff Street in an inner-city Dublin community centre.

The material is available on the IFI Player, free of charge and without any geoblocking restrictions so it can be viewed outside of the country.

We caught up with Merry Doyle at the launch of the collection to see how this project came about and what it means to him.

Watch the video for our full report.