The Ritz Cinema & Ballroom
My thanks to Mr Bill Muldowney
for providing me with some these photos.
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The Ritz Cinema 1972. Outside is a 1972 Vauxhall
Viva. 2 door. Sent in by Peter Walker Oct 2013.
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- The Ritz Cinema 1970's. Source
Dermot
O'Brien
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- The Ritz Cinema 1989
- Source: The Nationalist "Carlow Changes"
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The same building in
2009 |
Nationalist and Leinster Times.
June 1938.
Carlow's Magnificent New
Cinema.
Formal opening ceremony by celebrated screen actress.
The Magnificent
new Carlow Cinema, The Ritz, was filled to its utmost capacity on
Saturday night when the formal opening ceremony by Miss Diana Wynyard,
the celebrated stage and screen actress.
Miss Wynyard
was given a most enthusiastic reception when she appeared on the stage
accompanied by Mr. M. J. Deasy, Managing Director and Mr. Valentine
Miley.
Mr. Deasy said
he regretted the absence of Mr. Scott, the Architect, who was at present
engaged on professional business in America.
Mr. Deasy paid
a warm tribute to him and to the contractors D. J. Carbery, Ltd. Athy
and Carlow, on the splendid consummation of the work of erection of the
Cinema Theatre.
Miss Wynyard,
who was introduced by Mr. Deasy, received a great ovation. She said she
was very glad to come to Carlow to perform the opening ceremony.
She
congratulated the people of Carlow on having one of the most beautiful
luxurious and up-to-date Cinema Theatres in the country. She was sure
the Carlow audiences would always appreciate the films shown here.
Mr. Miley said
they all appreciated the great kindness of Miss Wynyard in coming there
at great personal inconvenience to formally open the Cinema, and as a
small mark of their appreciation he wished on behalf of the Directors to
present her with a pair of book-ends in Connemara marble suitably
inscribed.
The brilliant
light and artistic colour scheme of the interior was very favorably
commented on.
From a sound
point of view the building is as acoustically perfect as it could be.
Every syllable
of the actors on the screen could be distinctly heard from all parts of
the Theatre.
An interesting
feature of the opening was a mannequin parade under the direction of
Madam Brennan, South Anne Street, Dublin. Several beautiful designs in
evening gowns were exhibited.
The floral
decorations in the balcony, foyer and main entrance, which were a
veritable work of art, were carried out by A. L. Spiers, Burtown
Nurseries, Ballytore.
At the
conclusion of the programme an informal reception was held in the Foyer,
at which a large number of guests were present from Dublin, Carlow, and
adjoining counties.
- Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die is
a James Bond spoof film released in 1966
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- Films showing at the Ritz in
1967
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- The Secret Door 1964. The most
fantastic spy story ever revealed.
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- The Man from Galveston 1963
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Finders Keepers is
a 1966 British mmusical film,
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- The Bugs Bunny Show
- is an American animated anthology
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- British Pathe News
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- One Million Years B.C. is a 1966
British adventure fantasy film.
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Above are the adverts that
appeared in the Carlow Nationalist newspapers each week telling you what
pictures were being shown at the Ritz that week. |
| Source: Bill Muldowney and Merry
Kelly (nee Nolan) |
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- The Ritz
Cinema and Crotty's Bakery c.1968
- (Photo W. Muldowney c1968)
The Ritz Cinema opened in 1939.
A Hollywood actor came all the way over from America for the opening
ceremony. Admission price to the
pits cost 4d. In 1941 the Ritz management decided to raise this to 7d . 'Holy murder', pickets came from Graigue, and stood at the
Pit door so no person were allowed to go through.
Their argument was that no tax was payable on 4d, but above that
incurred a tax of 2d. So they were only getting 1d extra. Three weeks later, the
increase was scrapped.
The projectionist at the Ritz for many years was
Joe Carter of Burrin St, Carlow -Source:
Michael Cradden
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- The front entrance to the Ritz Cinema on Tullow
Street 1968 .
- The Ballroom was down the side road on the left in Charlotte
Street.
- (Photo W. Muldowney)
(Photo W. Muldowney c.1967 & 2006)
Here we have the side entrance in Charlotte Street to the Ritz Cinema
'Pit seats' in 1967. Further down on the right hand side
is the Ritz Ballroom.
P.J. Tierney and his orchestra was one of the many bands that
would have played here during the 60's. He was also did regular
appearances at the
Crofton Hotel Ballroom
The van on the left is delivering to Atkinsons Bicycle
Shop in Charlotte Street. This was where he used to store bicycles. The main
shop entrance was in Tullow Street.
Michael Scott
(Ritz Cinema Architect)
During the Second World
War, or the 'Emergency' as it was called in neutral Ireland, Scott's
practice operated out of accommodation in Clare Street, Dublin. It
survived on small commissions such as cinemas in Athlone and Clonmel
and interiors of public bars. Building materials and money were in
short supply and architects were hard hit. The artist Louis le
Brocquy (born 1916) who produced work for Scott during these years
wrote:
... things were not easy
for Michael either, as might be expected of an inspired contemporary
architect who repeatedly refused to compromise his growing vision, a
revelatory vision of plastic rectitude, of pure, unsentimental,
unadorned rightness.
Scott had been known to
walk away from commissions that he did not find challenging or
interesting. Increasingly he was passing on work and commissions
that he had received to young graduate architects whose work he
admired. The Ritz Cinema in Athlone (1939) is a case in point.
Although the design of the Ritz Cinema Carlow was attributed to
Michael Scott it was in fact designed by Bill O'Dwyer who was
working and studying in the office at that time. While it is
impossible for a successful architect to fully design all the
buildings that come into his practice, Scott seems to have produced
only rough sketches for the project leaving O'Dwyer to design the
building. O'Dwyer was to be responsible for many of the cinema
commissions undertaken by the firm in these years including two
other Ritz cinemas at Carlow and Clonmel which opened in 1940
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Tallon_Walker
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- © 2001 Ireland Genealogy Projects,
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