Actor Cillian Murphy and his wife Yvonne McGuinness have confirmed their purchase of The Phoenix cinema in Dingle, Co Kerry.
After three years on the market, the pair will begin the repair and refurbishment of the cinema next year.
In a statement on Friday, Mr Murphy said he had been going to see films at The Phoenix since he was a young boy on summer holidays.
“My Dad saw movies there when he was a young man before me, and we’ve watched many films at The Phoenix with our own kids,” he said. “We recognise what the cinema means to Dingle.”
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Ms McGuinness, who is an artist, said: “We want to open the doors again, expand the creative potential of the site, re-establishing its place in the cultural fabric of this unique town.”
The cinema, which opened in 1919 after being built by brothers Jimmy and Johnny Houlihan, had been closed since the Covid-19 lockdown in late 2021 and subsequently went on the market.
The historic venue is situated in the town centre and is the sole cinema on the Dingle Peninsula, with the nearest multiplex 30 miles away. The Phoenix is also the only cinema in a Gaeltacht area in Ireland which “will be acknowledged in its programming”, its new owners said.
Following devastating fires in both 1921 and 1938, the venue was reconstructed twice. The current name, art deco facade and a floor mosaic of a phoenix were added during the second rebuild.
In the 1950s, the Houlihans sold The Phoenix to John Moore and it continued to function as a cinema, concert venue and dance hall at the peak of the showband era.
Rory Gallagher performed in the cinema in 1964. For 12 days during June and July 1972, crowds flocked to it to see David Lean’s Ryan’s Daughter, which was filmed in the area.
Michael O’Sullivan bought The Phoenix in 1978 and after closing for renovations, the venue reopened in 1980 with new seating and facilities and the latest screening technology.
The O’Sullivan family were forced to close The Phoenix in November 2021 faced with rising costs and falling attendance.
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