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The Irish Sun

Irish filmmaker George Morrison dies aged 102 as President Michael D Higgins lead tributes for ‘iconic figure'

'He will rightly be remembered in particular as a great innovator' IRISH filmmaker George Morrison passed away aged 102 yesterday. The director was best known for his documentary Mise Eire, which was produced by Gael Linn and composed by Sean O Riada. 2 George Morrison has passed away Credit: Aosdána 2 Michael D Higgins has paid tribute to Morrison The film was premiered in 1959 at the Cork Film Festival and it was the first full length feature film ever produced in the Irish language. It dealt with key figures and events in Irish nationalism between Ireland's most turbulent periods, culminating in the 1916 Rising and Sinn Féin's electoral victory in 1918. The title itself was taken from a 1912 poem by Republican revolutionary Patrick Pearse. 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 followed in his parents footsteps and 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. Morrison was a member of Aosdana and 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. Morrison was elected a Saoi of Aosdana in 2017 and was bestowed with the symbol of the office of Saoi, the gold torc, by President Michael D Higgins. Higgins paid tribute to Morrison today after hearing about his death and called him an "iconic and foundational figure in Irish filmography". Shock as beloved RTE star dies aged 63 after brief illness & tributes pour in He said: "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. "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 Aras an Uachtarain in 2023. STAR TRIBUTES "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." Last year, Sinn Fein TD in Waterford Conor D McGuinness organised an event to honour Morrison. McGuinness also paid tribute to Morrison saying: "It's for Mise Eire and Saoirse he will mostly be remembered, but he produced many great works during his lifetime. "I was happy to nominate him last year for a civil honour from Waterford County and City Council. "Go dtuga Dia solas da mhuintir agus go raibh leaba i measc na naomh aige." After Mise Eire, Morrison made a follow-up documentary called Saoirse which analysed the still-divisive Civil War. He released a documentary on James Joyce's Ulysses in 2007, which was titled Dublin Day. And Morrison was the subject of a documentary called Waiting for the Light in 2008.