President Higgins mourns death of Mise Eire director George Morrison aged 102
Mr Morrison, who was best known for Mise Éire, died at the age of 102 years old.
President Higgins described him as 'an iconic and foundational figure in Irish filmography.'
He said: 'As President of Ireland, may I express my deepest condolences on learning of the death of George Morrison. George Morrison is and will remain an iconic and foundational figure in Irish filmography.
'A filmmaker of immense craft and skill, he will rightly be remembered in particular as a great innovator in the techniques of film, using new and pioneering camera work while realising how film and music could be brought together in a way that is distinctive.'
His films Mise Éire (1959), Saoirse (1961) and Rebellion (1963) are considered classics by his peers, according to Aosdána, the affiliation of creative artists in Ireland. Other renowned work include These Stones Remain (1971) and the maritime film Two Thousand Miles of Peril (1972).
President Higgins said: 'His seminal works, including Mise Éire and Saoirse as well as his many other films including his early partnership with the Gate Theatre, comprise an outstanding body of work that has made a deep and lasting impact on Irish culture and Irish cultural memory.
'Mise Éire was created following a painstaking process through which George tracked down long lost or forgotten newsreels from the independence period in archives across Europe. This work led to the preservation of 300,000 feet of early 20th century newsreel footage which may have been lost forever without his work.'
Mr Morrison was elected a Saoi of Aosdána in 2017 and presented with the symbol of the office of Saoi, the gold torc, by President Higgins at the time.
'I had the honour of bestowing the honour of Saoi of Aosdána on George Morrisson in 2017 and have also had the pleasure of meeting with him on many other occasions over the years, including when we marked his 100th birthday in Áras an Uachtaráin in 2023.
'On behalf of Sabina and myself, may I extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends and all those who have been so inspired by his work over the decades,' he added.
Mr Morrison was born in Tramore, Waterford, in 1922 and his mum was an actress at the Gate Theatre in Dublin while his father worked as an anaesthetist. He enrolled in Trinity College to study medicine before leaving university to pursue his career in the creative arts.
The Wexford native started working on documentaries with the Gate Theatre film ventures as an assistant director and editor. He was awarded the Industry Lifetime Contribution Award at the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2009.
He was predeceased by his beloved wife Janet Morrison, who died in 2019, and his first wife Theodora Fitzgibbon, who passed in 1991.
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