Cinema
St Mary's Road,
Buncrana
St Mary's Road,
Buncrana
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The St. Mary’s Hall was completed 1904 for concerts, assemblies and billiards, and is designed with a pastiche Baroque style façade. It has been a cinema since 1932 when it was under the management of an elected committee. The first film to be shown was “East of Borneo”. The hall had been previously used on occasions for silent films shown by Bracey Daniels, the McCormack family and the Carrickfords, travelling showmen.
A community centre was added to the hall in in 1974, and the Cinema underwent a refit in April 1994 at a cost of £35,000. There was a touch of controversy recently when “Fifty Shades of Grey” was allegedly banned. In its defence the Cinema stated it wasn’t offered the film and didn’t have the capacity anyway. The hall also staged a “Jack and the Beanstalk” pantomime in 2011 and holds regular bingo sessions. It is understood to be leased from Buncrana Parish Church.
Contributed by
Gavin McGrath
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
A 20-minute film describing the cinema’s operation is at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPmhL5IAHoA. The cinema was reportedly the last in Ireland to go digital in 2014.