One Million Dubliners

Never has journeying into the world of Ireland’s dead been as enlightening an experience as it is in One Million Dubliners, a fascinating exploration of Glasnevin Cemetery where cultural icons, political heroes, and ordinary Dubliners all find their final resting place. This documentary, about Ireland’s distinctive relationship with death, funerals and burial rituals, explores the economics of arranging plots; the nuts and bolts of cremation practice, and personal stories of mourners like the French woman who lays flowers regularly at Michael Collins’ grave. Leading the way is Glasnevin’s tour guide and resident historian Shane Mac Thomais, whose wisdom and charm breathes life into the stories buried under Glasnevin’s varied headstones and monuments.

Concerned with mortality but never morbid, One Millions Dubliners is a warm celebration of everyday life and a memorable contribution to Ireland’s ongoing conversation with its dead.