Morrison was born in Tramore , Co . Waterford . His mother was an actress at Dublin 's Gate Theatre , while his father worked as a neurological anaesthetist . Morrison studied medicine at Trinity College , Dublin but dropped out in order to pursue his ambition to work in films . Early in his career he assisted director Hilton Edwards in two of the latter 's films : '' From Time to Time '' and '' Hamlet of Elsinore '' . For '' Mise Éire '' , Morrison painstakingly assembled historical footage of the events surrounding the 1916 Rising from archives across Europe . The result , released by Gael Linn to great acclaim at the 1959 Cork Film Festival , was the first feature-length Irish language film . Morrison later revealed that he was paid £ 375 for his work on '' Mise Éire '' and received no further royalties . The film was permitted to be screened only in the Irish language , which reduced its audience outside Ireland . The sequel , '' Saoirse ? '' , was not as popular with the Irish public , perhaps due to its focus on the Irish Civil War , a subject that remained divisive for many years after peace was established
Cork Film Festival
Cork Film Festival
George Morrison (documentary maker)