Cillian Murphy and wife Yvonne McGuinness buy Dingle’s historic Phoenix cinema

The irish independent can now reveal that the historic property has been bought by Oscar-winning actor and producer Cillian Murphy and his wife, artist Yvonne McGuinness, for an undisclosed sum. After 105 years in operation as a cinema and dance hall, The Phoenix will remain independently owned.

The big venue has been named Time Out as “one of the top 50 cinemas in the UK and Ireland”.

“I’ve been watching movies at Phoenix since I was a young kid on summer vacation,” Murphy said. “My father saw movies there when he was a young man before me, and we have seen many movies at Phoenix with our own children. We recognize what the cinema means to Dingle.”

McGuinness said: “We want to reopen the doors, expand the site’s creative potential and re-establish its place in the cultural fabric of this unique city.”

A short walk from Dingle Harbor is the cinema in the town centre. The only cinema on the Dingle Peninsula (the nearest multiplex is 30 miles away), the Phoenix is ​​also the only cinema in a Gaeltacht area of ​​Ireland, a fact which will be recognized in its new programming. For the past several years, a campaign has been running in the city with the aim of preserving it as a cinema and cultural centre.

The cinema has a history of being built by brothers Jimmy and Johnny Houlihan and opened in 1919.

After devastating fires in both 1921 and 1938, the site was reconstructed twice. The current name, art deco facade and the unique floor mosaic of the mythical bird Phoenix were added during the second remodeling.

Over the following decades, the Phoenix became Dingle’s Cinema Paradiso, a place that inspired generations of moviegoers and artists. In the 1950s the Houlihan family sold the Phoenix to John Moore and it continued to operate as a cinema, concert venue and dancehall at the height of the showband era.

Rory Gallagher appeared at the cinema in 1964. Over 12 days in June and July 1972, crowds flocked to the cinema to see early screenings of David Lean’s Ryan’s daughterwhich was recorded on the peninsula.

‘Bionn dubi maithe mall’ – Murphy and McGuinness

Mainly driven by his passion for film, the late Michael ‘Francie’ O’Sullivan bought the Phoenix in 1978 and it reopened in 1980 with new lavish seating and an energy that brought a mix of blockbusters and art house food to the city. In 1992, the cinema was also the location for the premiere of Far and away, which was attended by the film’s stars, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. In recent years the O’Sullivan family have had to deal with rising costs and falling attendances, and in 2021 the cinema closed its doors.

Now, thanks to Murphy and McGuinness’s investment, the Phoenix is ​​reopening. After three years on the market, they will start the repair and refurbishment of the cinema next year. A press release for the purchase added: ‘Bíónn obbú maithe mall’ (good things are slow).