Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy and his wife, artist Yvonne McGuinnness, have bought a cinema that he used to visit as a child with the intention of refurbishing it.
Murphy, from Cork, 48, and McGuinness will renovate The Phoenix Cinema in Dingle, Co Kerry, south-west Ireland, next year.
Situated in the town centre, it is the only cinema in the Dingle Peninsula, in the Ring of Kerry. Formerly used as both a movie theatre and dance hall for more than 100 years, it had been on the market for three years before it was bought by Murphy and McGuinness.
“I’ve been going to see films at The Phoenix since I was a young boy on summer holidays,” Murphy said.
“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.”
The Phoenix was built by brothers Jimmy and Johnny Houlihan and opened in 1919. After fires in 1921 and 1938, it was reconstructed twice, during which time the art deco facade, phoenix floor mosaic and name were added.
In the 1950s, the Houlihans sold the venue to John Moore and it continued to be a cinema, concert venue and dance hall. It was then bought by Michael O’Sullivan in 1978, who ran it until the Covid-19 pandemic when it was shut during Ireland’s lockdown.
Murphy has attended the Dingle International Film Festival when it was held at the Phoenix, which has also hosted independent and foreign language films, and a Tuesday night film club.
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.”
Murphy is one of Ireland’s most successful and respected actors, this year alone winning a Golden Globe, Bafta, Oscar and Screen Actors Guild award for his performance in Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer.
He is also known for his role as Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby in the BBC drama Peaky Blinders, which debuted in 2013 and concluded as a series in 2022. Murphy will reprise his role in a film for Netflix, starring opposite fellow Irish actor Barry Keoghan and Line of Duty’s Stephen Graham.
Additional reporting by Press Association
