Cillian Murphy and his wife Yvonne McGuinness have purchased a cherished piece of his childhood, acquiring the cinema he frequented visited as a boy.
The couple will start the renovation of The Phoenix Cinema in Dingle, Co Kerry, south-west Ireland, next year.
Sharing his views on buying the cinema in the Dingle Peninsula the Oppenheimer star said, “I’ve been going to see films at The Phoenix since I was a young boy on summer holidays.”.
He went on to say, “My dad saw movies there when he was a young man before me, and we’ve watched many films at The Phoenix with our own kids. We recognise what the cinema means to Dingle.”
Murphy’s wife McGuinness said, “We want to open the doors again, expand the creative potential of the site, re-establishing its place in the cultural fabric of this unique town.”
The Phoenix was constructed by siblings Jimmy and Johnny Houlihan and first opened its doors in 1919.
It is situated in the town centre and was formerly used as both a movie theatre and a dance hall.
Following fires in 1921 and 1938, it underwent two reconstructions, during which the Art Deco facade, phoenix floor mosaic, and name were incorporated.
Before the purchase by Murphy and McGuinness, the theatre was on the market for three years.
