The new seventeen screen UGC (incorporating the former IMAX space) opened in November 2003 – see separate entry on Cinema Treasures for Cineworld Dublin. The Sheridan IMAX in Belfast (opened 2001) and the Sheridan IMAX in Bournemouth (opened 2002) also proved to be short-lived ventures; there are separate entries for these on this website.
The Parnell Centre was the Sheridan Group’s second development for MGM Cinemas; their first, at Dublin Road in Belfast, opened in 1993. While the Parnell Centre was still under construction MGM was sold to Virgin Cinemas which meant that this new nine-screen multiplex (offering 2,337 seats overall) opened as a Virgin. Richard Branson performed the official opening ceremony on 16th November 1995. The design was by UK-based Watson Design.
Dublin was one of nineteen Virgin multiplexes sold to UGC Cinemas in October 1999, and subsequently renamed UGC. In 1998 Sheridan opened a Sheridan IMAX cinema in another part of the Parnell Centre. It was a short-lived venture and closed two years later – see separate entry in Cinema Treasures. The UGC closed in 2003, in order to expand and incorporate the site of the former IMAX. Writing in ‘The History of Dublin Cinemas’ (2007), Marc Zimmermann said that by this stage the former Virgin Cinema had lost most of its original identity – its name, entrance and lobby, essentially becoming a new cinema.The new UGC, which was almost double the size of the old cinema, opened
in stages during the second week of November 2003.
By December 2004 the cinema’s ownership had changed again, UGC having been acquired by Cineworld. It would be around 12th August 2005, though, before the cinema adopted its current name.
It was announced on 12th February 2019 that the cinema would close by the end of May 2019. The building has been sold for more than £7m to Belfast-based software company Kainos, who plan to turn the site into its new headquarters.
Movie House managing director Michael McAdam said the decison had been made with “a heavy heart”. He also said that they had recently seen a big shift in attendance out of Belfast city centre to surburban cinemas, which offer free parking. He hoped to be in a position to offer jobs to the cinema’s 33 full and part-time staff.
The last business day under ABC ownership was Saturday 16th July 1966. The first films shown by the new owners, Solar Cinemas Ltd of Belfast, were screened on the following Monday, the 18th. Solar, who also owned the town’s other cinema, the Regent, retained the Ritz name.
However, the new set-up was relatively shortlived. Solar subsequently did a deal to sell the premises and as a consequence the decades of film shows at the Ritz came to an end on Saturday 4th November 1967.
According to ‘Bangor An Historical Gazetteer’ (by Marcus Patton, UAHS, 1999), John O'Neill founded the Tonic Bus Service (which ran from Bangor to Donaghadee). Having sold the business to the N I Road Transport Board, he invested the anticipated proceeds in a cinema, named after his bus service; the cinema cost £76,000. It has been described as the finest example of cinema architecture in the province and at the time of opening was the second largest on the island of
Ireland.
The original Light House cinema was located on Middle Abbey Street (see separate entry on Cinema Treasures).
A new government-funded cinema was opened in nearby Smithfield in 2008. It briefly closed in 2011 following the Dublin property crash but was acquired by NAMA.
In 2012, the cinema was taken over by Element Pictures and reopened.
Additional Screen info: Screen 1 – 279; Screen 2 – 153; Screen 3 – 116; Screen 4 – 68.
Ireland’s first Odeon cinema (not to be confused with some independent operators who had used the Odeon name at one time or another) officially opened on 27th March 2012. It was Odeon’s first ISENSE screen installed in the UK or Ireland.
This cinema opened as a UCI in December 2009. At that time UCI’s Irish
cinemas were owned by Entertainment Enterprises and managed by Odeon. It was sold to Odeon (along with eight other cinemas and two pipeline developments) in 2011 and subsequently renamed.
In June 2006, the opening date for Storm’s fourth cinema (at Belfast Odyssey Pavilion), Naas had not yet opened. However, when Entertainment Enterprises acquired Storm’s Irish cinemas in 2008 (with the exception of Belfast), Naas was one of the fives names on the list.
The Pálás Cinema is run and operated by Element Pictures – https://elementpictures.ie/, who also run and operate the Lighthouse Dublin and the Road House Cinema.
The Lighthouse is owned by Element Pictures – https://elementpictures.ie/, who also run and operate the recently opened Pálás Cinema in Galway and the Road House Cinema.
On 14th July 2018, the Meath Chronicle announced that Navan’s only cinema, the Diamond Digital, would close after twenty years in operation.
The Arc Cinema, a 35,000 sq ft state-of-the-art development, costing €7 million and situated at the expanded site of the Diamond Digital, which had undergone a complete renovation, opened on 14th December 2018.
According to Scannain.com (28 November 2018), it is the north east’s only all-VIP seating cinema with each of the six auditoriums boasting extra-large luxurious rocking leather seats for maximum comfort with
stadium-style tiers for a perfect view from every seat.
It is the third location for the Arc Cinema chain, which joins those in Drogheda and Wexford town.
The Eclipse website says that Cineplex Bundoran was rebranded Eclipse Cinemas Bundoran in 2009 and has had a major regeneration since then.
A Donegal student came up with the name Eclipse Cinemas following a name the cinema competition because “When you go into a studio it is bright, then the lights go down and the film starts. At the end the lights go up again, just like during an Eclipse”.
It was the ambition of the founders to bring City Style cinemas to smaller towns, with the extra attractions of a warm welcome and high quality customer service that you would associate with a family-run business.
This cinema opened as a seven-screen Omniplex in 1993. By 2013 three more screens had been added. As a result of the division of the Ward Anderson group in 2013 it became an IMC. It now has 11 screens.
The 7-screen Strand Multiplex opened on 26th November 1993, three days before the opening of the new Quayside Centre. Following a reburbishment, it was rebranded as Omnniplex from 2 November 2007. A further refurbishment was completed in 2014 and involved the conversion of one of the existing screens to Omniplex’s giant format MAXX screens.
The Willowfield Picture House opened on 13th December 1915. It was owned by the Willowfield Unionist Club (a constitutent part of the Ulster Unionist Party). By 1969 the cinema (as distinct from the building) had changed hands; it was now being run by Rex Cinema (Belfast) Ltd, who changed its name to the Rex. It continued to use the Rex name during the brief period when it showed Asian films. (Rex Cinemas (Belfast) Ltd also owned the Park Cinema, Belfast in its final years; Rex Cinemas was a sister company of Carter Cinemas Ltd.)
The Park was the first cinema opened in Belfast by Supreme Cinemas, one of the largest of the locally owned chains. Supreme’s other cinemas, at that time, were all located in provincial towns.In its last years the Park was owned by Park Cinema (Belfast) Ltd., which appears to have been a sister company of Rex Cinema (Belfast) Ltd. (see KYB 1970)
Having conducted an extensive trawl of the advertising columns of the Belfast Telegraph, from the opening to the closure of this cinema, I can find absolutely no evidence that the Metro ever changed its name to the Rex. It opened as the Metro, it continued as the Metro and when it closed on 29th March 1961, it was still the Metro. By 10th February 1962 it had become the New Metro Ballroom, a short-lived venture.(KYB 1958 shows the owners as Sandro Theatres, which was a Supreme Cinemas company.)
The records show that Belfast’s first full time cinema was the Alhambra Theatre of Varieties in North Street (June 1908). However, St. George’s Hall can stake a claim to it being the city’s first full time cinema without a theatrical background. While films predominated, live acts continued to have a place on the St. George’s bill. As to the date of its closure as a cinema, it’s arguable that this was as early as 1914, according to Belfast cinema author Tom Hughes.
The hall itself, which is on an upper floor of St.George’s Buildings (erected 1881) has remained unused for a number of years.
In contrast to Fred Steward’s first cinema, the Silver (orginally the Electric), which was a conversion of an existing building, the New York (the Silver’s replacement, further up the same busy street but on the other side), was custom built. Cinema author Tom Hughes, writing in ‘How Belfast Saw The Light’ (2014) said, ‘The architect was Thomas Houston of Wellington Place and he produced an unfussy, compact looking building with a basic classical facade. The auditorium was spacious with a high ceiling; seating was for 750 patrons’.
The new seventeen screen UGC (incorporating the former IMAX space) opened in November 2003 – see separate entry on Cinema Treasures for Cineworld Dublin. The Sheridan IMAX in Belfast (opened 2001) and the Sheridan IMAX in Bournemouth (opened 2002) also proved to be short-lived ventures; there are separate entries for these on this website.
The Parnell Centre was the Sheridan Group’s second development for MGM Cinemas; their first, at Dublin Road in Belfast, opened in 1993. While the Parnell Centre was still under construction MGM was sold to Virgin Cinemas which meant that this new nine-screen multiplex (offering 2,337 seats overall) opened as a Virgin. Richard Branson performed the official opening ceremony on 16th November 1995. The design was by UK-based Watson Design.
Dublin was one of nineteen Virgin multiplexes sold to UGC Cinemas in October 1999, and subsequently renamed UGC. In 1998 Sheridan opened a Sheridan IMAX cinema in another part of the Parnell Centre. It was a short-lived venture and closed two years later – see separate entry in Cinema Treasures. The UGC closed in 2003, in order to expand and incorporate the site of the former IMAX. Writing in ‘The History of Dublin Cinemas’ (2007), Marc Zimmermann said that by this stage the former Virgin Cinema had lost most of its original identity – its name, entrance and lobby, essentially becoming a new cinema.The new UGC, which was almost double the size of the old cinema, opened in stages during the second week of November 2003.
By December 2004 the cinema’s ownership had changed again, UGC having been acquired by Cineworld. It would be around 12th August 2005, though, before the cinema adopted its current name.
It was announced on 12th February 2019 that the cinema would close by the end of May 2019. The building has been sold for more than £7m to Belfast-based software company Kainos, who plan to turn the site into its new headquarters.
Movie House managing director Michael McAdam said the decison had been made with “a heavy heart”. He also said that they had recently seen a big shift in attendance out of Belfast city centre to surburban cinemas, which offer free parking. He hoped to be in a position to offer jobs to the cinema’s 33 full and part-time staff.
The last business day under ABC ownership was Saturday 16th July 1966. The first films shown by the new owners, Solar Cinemas Ltd of Belfast, were screened on the following Monday, the 18th. Solar, who also owned the town’s other cinema, the Regent, retained the Ritz name.
However, the new set-up was relatively shortlived. Solar subsequently did a deal to sell the premises and as a consequence the decades of film shows at the Ritz came to an end on Saturday 4th November 1967.
According to ‘Bangor An Historical Gazetteer’ (by Marcus Patton, UAHS, 1999), John O'Neill founded the Tonic Bus Service (which ran from Bangor to Donaghadee). Having sold the business to the N I Road Transport Board, he invested the anticipated proceeds in a cinema, named after his bus service; the cinema cost £76,000. It has been described as the finest example of cinema architecture in the province and at the time of opening was the second largest on the island of Ireland.
Its successor, a brand new four-screen Light House cinema, was opened in 2008 in the nearby Smithfield area – see separate entry on Cinema Treasures.
The original Light House cinema was located on Middle Abbey Street (see separate entry on Cinema Treasures). A new government-funded cinema was opened in nearby Smithfield in 2008. It briefly closed in 2011 following the Dublin property crash but was acquired by NAMA. In 2012, the cinema was taken over by Element Pictures and reopened. Additional Screen info: Screen 1 – 279; Screen 2 – 153; Screen 3 – 116; Screen 4 – 68.
Ireland’s first Odeon cinema (not to be confused with some independent operators who had used the Odeon name at one time or another) officially opened on 27th March 2012. It was Odeon’s first ISENSE screen installed in the UK or Ireland.
This cinema opened as a UCI in December 2009. At that time UCI’s Irish cinemas were owned by Entertainment Enterprises and managed by Odeon. It was sold to Odeon (along with eight other cinemas and two pipeline developments) in 2011 and subsequently renamed.
In June 2006, the opening date for Storm’s fourth cinema (at Belfast Odyssey Pavilion), Naas had not yet opened. However, when Entertainment Enterprises acquired Storm’s Irish cinemas in 2008 (with the exception of Belfast), Naas was one of the fives names on the list.
The Storm Cinema appears to have opened in 2001, following the opening of Storm’s first cinema, in Cavan, the previous year.
By 20th January 2006 it had been rebranded as Vue.
Cinema World is part of Cork Cinemas, who also operate three Gate cinemas – at Cork, Mallow and Midleton. http://www.corkcinemas.com/home.php
The Pálás Cinema is run and operated by Element Pictures – https://elementpictures.ie/, who also run and operate the Lighthouse Dublin and the Road House Cinema.
The Lighthouse is owned by Element Pictures – https://elementpictures.ie/, who also run and operate the recently opened Pálás Cinema in Galway and the Road House Cinema.
On 14th July 2018, the Meath Chronicle announced that Navan’s only cinema, the Diamond Digital, would close after twenty years in operation.
The Arc Cinema, a 35,000 sq ft state-of-the-art development, costing €7 million and situated at the expanded site of the Diamond Digital, which had undergone a complete renovation, opened on 14th December 2018.
According to Scannain.com (28 November 2018), it is the north east’s only all-VIP seating cinema with each of the six auditoriums boasting extra-large luxurious rocking leather seats for maximum comfort with stadium-style tiers for a perfect view from every seat.
It is the third location for the Arc Cinema chain, which joins those in Drogheda and Wexford town.
The Eclipse website says that Cineplex Bundoran was rebranded Eclipse Cinemas Bundoran in 2009 and has had a major regeneration since then.
A Donegal student came up with the name Eclipse Cinemas following a name the cinema competition because “When you go into a studio it is bright, then the lights go down and the film starts. At the end the lights go up again, just like during an Eclipse”.
It was the ambition of the founders to bring City Style cinemas to smaller towns, with the extra attractions of a warm welcome and high quality customer service that you would associate with a family-run business.
This cinema opened as a seven-screen Omniplex in 1993. By 2013 three more screens had been added. As a result of the division of the Ward Anderson group in 2013 it became an IMC. It now has 11 screens.
This five-screen cinema opened as an Omniplex in 1995. It became an IMC following the division of the Ward Anderson group in 2013.
The 7-screen Strand Multiplex opened on 26th November 1993, three days before the opening of the new Quayside Centre. Following a reburbishment, it was rebranded as Omnniplex from 2 November 2007. A further refurbishment was completed in 2014 and involved the conversion of one of the existing screens to Omniplex’s giant format MAXX screens.
The Willowfield Picture House opened on 13th December 1915. It was owned by the Willowfield Unionist Club (a constitutent part of the Ulster Unionist Party). By 1969 the cinema (as distinct from the building) had changed hands; it was now being run by Rex Cinema (Belfast) Ltd, who changed its name to the Rex. It continued to use the Rex name during the brief period when it showed Asian films. (Rex Cinemas (Belfast) Ltd also owned the Park Cinema, Belfast in its final years; Rex Cinemas was a sister company of Carter Cinemas Ltd.)
The Park was the first cinema opened in Belfast by Supreme Cinemas, one of the largest of the locally owned chains. Supreme’s other cinemas, at that time, were all located in provincial towns.In its last years the Park was owned by Park Cinema (Belfast) Ltd., which appears to have been a sister company of Rex Cinema (Belfast) Ltd. (see KYB 1970)
Having conducted an extensive trawl of the advertising columns of the Belfast Telegraph, from the opening to the closure of this cinema, I can find absolutely no evidence that the Metro ever changed its name to the Rex. It opened as the Metro, it continued as the Metro and when it closed on 29th March 1961, it was still the Metro. By 10th February 1962 it had become the New Metro Ballroom, a short-lived venture.(KYB 1958 shows the owners as Sandro Theatres, which was a Supreme Cinemas company.)
The records show that Belfast’s first full time cinema was the Alhambra Theatre of Varieties in North Street (June 1908). However, St. George’s Hall can stake a claim to it being the city’s first full time cinema without a theatrical background. While films predominated, live acts continued to have a place on the St. George’s bill. As to the date of its closure as a cinema, it’s arguable that this was as early as 1914, according to Belfast cinema author Tom Hughes.
The hall itself, which is on an upper floor of St.George’s Buildings (erected 1881) has remained unused for a number of years.
In contrast to Fred Steward’s first cinema, the Silver (orginally the Electric), which was a conversion of an existing building, the New York (the Silver’s replacement, further up the same busy street but on the other side), was custom built. Cinema author Tom Hughes, writing in ‘How Belfast Saw The Light’ (2014) said, ‘The architect was Thomas Houston of Wellington Place and he produced an unfussy, compact looking building with a basic classical facade. The auditorium was spacious with a high ceiling; seating was for 750 patrons’.