Cillian Murphy and his wife buy town’s only cinema

Oscar-winning histrion Cillian Murphy has bought a cinema that helium utilized to sojourn arsenic a child.

Murphy, from Cork, 48, and his wife, creator Yvonne McGuinness, volition refurbish The Phoenix Cinema successful Dingle, Co Kerry, south-west Ireland, adjacent year.

The venue, which has been utilized arsenic a movie theatre and creation hall, had been successful cognition for much than 100 years, and had been connected the marketplace for 3 years earlier McGuinness and Murphy bought the building.

“I’ve been going to spot films astatine The Phoenix since I was a young lad connected summertime holidays,” Murphy said.

“My dada saw movies determination erstwhile helium was a young antheral earlier me, and we’ve watched galore films astatine The Phoenix with our ain kids. We recognise what the cinema means to Dingle.”

The municipality centre cinema is the lone 1 successful the tourer country of the Dingle Peninsula, successful the Ring of Kerry. The closest different movie theatres are miles distant successful Tralee and Killarney.

Michael O’Sullivan, who bought The Phoenix successful 1978, ran the venue until the Covid-19 pandemic, erstwhile it was unopen during Ireland’s lockdown.

They cited rising costs, falling attendance and challenging accumulation terms.

McGuinness said. “We privation to unfastened the doors again, grow the originative imaginable of the site, re-establishing its spot successful the taste cloth of this unsocial town.”

The Phoenix Cinema has besides hosted the Dingle International Film Festival, which Murphy has attended, arsenic good arsenic autarkic and overseas connection films, and a Tuesday nighttime movie club.

The cinema was built by brothers Jimmy and Johnny Houlihan and opened successful 1919.

After fires successful 1921 and 1938, the venue was reconstructed twice. In the 2nd rebuild the creation deco facade, phoenix level mosaic and sanction were added.

In the 1950s, the Houlihans sold the venue to John Moore and it continued to beryllium a cinema, performance venue and creation hall.

Guitarist Rory Gallagher performed there, and the David Lean-directed movie Ryan’s Daughter, made successful the area, was shown.

A run to prevention it was launched erstwhile it unopen 3 years ago.

Earlier this twelvemonth Murphy took the awards circuit by storm, winning a Golden Globe, a Bafta, an Academy Award and a Screen Actors Guild gong for Oppenheimer.

He played theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer successful the Oscar-winning biopic astir the begetter of the atomic bomb.

Murphy is besides known for portraying gangster Tommy Shelby successful the BBC play Peaky Blinders, which debuted successful 2013 and for which helium has been nominated for a TV Bafta.

Peaky Blinders is to instrumentality with a Netflix movie, besides starring Barry Keoghan.