The Victorian Romantics - Burtonport, Donegal Ireland (1988)

The Victorian Romantics of Burtonport in County Donegal have eschewed modern life in order to live according to 19th century values.
A group of women known as the Victorian Romantics live in Atlantis House in Burtonport. The property was previously inhabited by the Atlantis commune known locally as the Screamers.
A short film made for the Late Late Show shows the ladies visiting Michael Farren’s butchers shop in Dungloe, a maid carrying out various duties, instruction being given on deportment, and members of the group sewing and reading by gaslight while listening to their wind up gramophone.
Mistress of the house Miss Clare Tyrrell, originally from England and her housekeeper, New Zealander Miss Reiner, appear on the ‘The Late Late Show’ to explain why they have chosen to live as Victorians. Miss Tyrrell says,
We don’t concern ourselves with present at all, we live in a little world inside our house.
Miss Tyrrell is not living in a precise year and the different members of the household each favour different periods within the Victorian era. Miss Tyrrell prefers the early part of Queen Victoria’s reign as she enjoys being demure, modest and ladylike. Another member of the group prefers the mid 19th century and chooses to wear a crinoline petticoat.
Miss Tyrrell is keen to stress the group are not simply escaping the modern world.
We see it as something much more creative and enjoyable than that.
This episode of ‘The Late Late Show’ was broadcast on 25 March 1988.

[@michaelgarvey8388]

A man with a bag on his head lead me here

[@argotsambience]

me too! it was a fascinating episode. I just had to know more.

[@conorjbuckley2014]

Apparently they were on the Late Late too I don’t see it on RUclips tho 😢

[@desbrittain9952]

I used to live in that big house in Burtonport with the Screamers in the late 1970s. It was owned by sisters Snowy and Jennie. It was a mad period in my life. Jennie and a few others emigrated to Colombia where they still live.

[@peterdrew5068]

Me too i also lived in the house in Brixton

[@desbrittain9952]

@@peterdrew5068 I spent a night or two there with Snowy and Beckie. Madness!

[@wadenicholls4434]

one of the sisters sons was shot dead in Columbia, was there a lot of shagging going on ?

[@Luce-Kochav]

Would you be willing to discuss this through messages maybe? A sort of informal interview?

[@Luce-Kochav]

@@peterdrew5068 Would you be willing to chat about this?

[@mb-vf3qb]

Remember these ladies well. I'm from Burton port.

[@landyman918]

A interesting fact about this group is it was a fake front and the leader was actually a very nasty woman who was a lead player in the national front in the UK and one of the rooms in the house was full of boxes of letters and confession of crimes across the UK.

[@houseaudio5157]

Where'd you find out about that?

[@Identity_Withheld]

A lot of comedy material for the locals on a Friday night.

[@conzer87]

Great find. Thanks for uploading. Do you have the other half of the interview?

[@slickrick320]

There's a BBC podcast about this where Sofina explains she is physically abused. Very interesting.