The cinema in Lucan

r3nu4l · 10-03-2009 5:58pm #1

Does anyone else remember it? It stood on the site that the Ulster Bank is on now, beside the weir brige.

I went there a few times as a kid and saw the Return of the Jedi with my brother and my Dad. Another time I saw The Aristocats with the Summer Project and I also remember going to see Back to the Future there too. Great times, I didn't get to the cinema often and we used to sneak our own sweets in but I really enjoyed it, even if it was freezing cold in there at times.

Incidentally, does anyone remember the name of the cinema? I only ever knew it as the cinema.

madds · 10-03-2009 10:39pm

I do indeed. It was painted yellow right? Can't remember its name but the first film I saw there was "The Cat from Outer Space". Youtube link

madds · 11-03-2009 8:52pm

I believe it was known as 'The Premiere'.

r3nu4l · 12-03-2009 8:48am

Yep, that sounds familiar madds, yup, the yellow paint stood out alright. I remember over the years if just got more and more decrepit. There were seats with huge holes in them where someone had ripped out the stuffing, holes in the ceiling.

I never sat in the area directly below the balcony because I knew boys who would be up in the balcony and always spat over the side onto the people below :rolleyes:

I do recall finding the film reel for Return of the Jedi in the bin at the back of the cinema as a kid, Unfortunately, the film canister had been opened nd the film reel cut into pieces. Someone should have kept those, they would be worth a fortune today

spurious · 12-03-2009 9:18am

Sorry about the blurring on the right.
From "A to Z of Old Dublin Cinemas".

PurplePrincess · 12-03-2009 9:44am

God that photo brings back memories. The first time I was in that cinema was 1982 when as a treat for starting primary school my friends mum took us to see ET. I also remember how it was always freezing in the place.

Its funny how you forget the way Lucan used to be and what was there before and is now gone.

r3nu4l · 12-03-2009 10:09am

spurious wrote: »

Sorry about the blurring on the right.
From "A to Z of Old Dublin Cinemas".

Thanks for that spurious, it brought a smile to my face

Incidentally, my parents knew both the Peter Brady and Jim Sweeney mentioned in the caption, quite well

PurplePrincess wrote: »

God that photo brings back memories. The first time I was in that cinema was 1982 when as a treat for starting primary school my friends mum took us to see ET. I also remember how it was always freezing in the place.

Its funny how you forget the way Lucan used to be and what was there before and is now gone.

Now that you mention it, I saw ET in there too!! I'm a few years older than you though, I started primary school in 1979.

It's funny how at one time Lucan could support a cinema, despite being a tiny town. I wonder if it could manage that today. I know Liffey Valley is only a stones throw away but I imagine people from Lucan, Leixlip, and Celbridge would use it. Couldn't have it in the village though!

madds · 12-03-2009 2:51pm

Great photo Spurious, thanks. When did the cinema get knocked to make way for the bank and apartments? Mid-90's?

spurious · 12-03-2009 9:14pm

The aforementioned book has this photo taken in 1995, so it was demolished sometime soon after that I would say.

The person who took the picture has it labelled 'Grove cinema' - was it called that at one stage?

r3nu4l · 12-03-2009 11:30pm

spurious wrote: »

The aforementioned book has this photo taken in 1995, so it was demolished sometime soon after that I would say.

The person who took the picture has it labelled 'Grove cinema' - was it called that at one stage?

Mary Mulhall is someone I know personally

She is author of a number of local history books for Lucan, including 'Lucan and Lucanians' iirc. If she calls it the Grove then it must have had that name at one stage.

Jamfan · 13-03-2009 2:30am

Ah lads... deadly stuff...

I think the cinema used to be called The Grove at first and had its name changed to Premiere... I'll check that with the ma.

Do you also remember...

Crowe's Corner

Goobays

Irish Cementation (where Ardeen and the An Post sorting offce is now)

The Co-op

Big J

... among others...

... and McCormacks... Jaysus, how could I forget that!

... and that aul one that had a tiny shop in between Lynch's and Toolan's... what was that called again? Saunders?

r3nu4l · 13-03-2009 8:34am

Jamfan wrote: »

Ah lads... deadly stuff...

I think the cinema used to be called The Grove at first and had its name changed to Premiere... I'll check that with the ma.

Do you also remember...

Crowe's Corner

Goobays

Irish Cementation (where Ardeen and the An Post sorting offce is now)

The Co-op

Big J

... among others...

... and McCormacks... Jaysus, how could I forget that!

... and that aul one that had a tiny shop in between Lynch's and Toolan's... what was that called again? Saunders?

Ha ha, now you're talking Jamfan

Yep I remember Goobays alright, the trolleys with the blue handles and the 'three guys' motif on them!
I remember too at that time there were shops at the back of the checkouts, where the wall is now. That meant you didn't have to leave the shop to go to the Newsagents, Butchers or the Wool shop.

I remember being sent to Big J's for white contact adhesive once and coming back with clear contact adhesive. My Mam wasn't best pleased, it was okay though because we lived about 200 metres from Big J's anyway. I always thought the co-op was dark and dingy as a kid but I loved McCormacks, simply because there was such a wide variety of things there, you could buy flies for fly fishing and pick up a toy matchbox car if you wanted to at the same time (if you had the money

).

I remember in the spot where the An Post sorting office and Ardeen are there used to be a vegetable market at one time too.

Jamfan · 14-03-2009 4:28am

I also am from closeby to Big J and am about the same age as you, as you started school in 1979... hopefully we are not childhood enemies or whatever... lol... you're a mod so check if you know who I am... we MUST know each other.

Anyway...

Big J... used to go in to buy a tin of paint or ten pence worth of nails and no matter how lowly the purchase they used to write out an invoice in duplicate on that contraption they had.

McCormacks... great shop. Pity the old lady died. She was a bit stern, but had a great shop. Used to love the Matchbox display box in the window.

Ah yeah, the shops inside Tescos... or Three Guys and then Goobays and then Tesco, as it was back then... News Extra and Cripps and some others.

That's right, down where The Cementation was there used to be a fruit and veg market... your man used to reduce the price down to the lowest five pence with a glint in his eye... if a couple of carrots came to 27p he'd round it down to 25p... lol. After that there used to be a fellah in there that sold Yugo cars. We used to call the old Cementation offices 'The Haunted House'.

Dufresne · 14-03-2009 4:33pm

The cinema in the village was always called The Grove. I've never heard it called anything else. I knew several of the lads from 'The Park' and Dodsboro who worked there. I remember it was decrepid and there were always people screaming that they'd seen a rat..

Oh yeah and as r3nu4l said - you never sat under the balcony.

I remember McCormacks and the cars in the window and never being able to afford one. There used to ba a shop directly across from the boys school (was it called Dignams???) - we used to buy 'blackjacks' there in the early 70s and you got 8 for a penny.

We should do a historic pictures of Lucan thread - like some of the other ones on boards - or even a 'now and then' with pics of old Lucan and whats there now - Anyone remember the tearooms at the Liffey Bridge where the road into Laracon is now

IvySlayer · 15-03-2009 9:48pm

Does anyone remember the butcher that used to be where Spar is now in Dodsboro? Also there used to be a cake shop beside it!

http://www.iol.ie/~geof/hist.htm

^That is interesting, I might just go around and look at all the old ruins!

lord lucan · 19-03-2009 9:31pm

i remember gubays well from when i was a nipper. we lived in leixlip but always done our shopping down there. they used to have a huge shelf for packing your messages(who calls them that now?!!) into.

i forgot all about big j's,went in there many times with my aul fella.

the cinema was a real eye-sore in the village for a long time. never thought a block of apartments would be so welcome. i have vague memories of being in it once and then going to the east end for a smoked cod and chips with me ma' and da'.

that 'lucan and lucanians' is a great read by the way,loads of stuff you'll probably never have realised about the history of the area.

r3nu4l · 19-03-2009 9:51pm

Jamfan wrote: »

I also am from closeby to Big J and am about the same age as you, as you started school in 1979... hopefully we are not childhood enemies or whatever... lol... you're a mod so check if you know who I am... we MUST know each other.

Well I'm a Hillcrest lad, you may be Woodview, I only knew one or two lads from Woodview. I doubt we were enemies

Nah, us mods can't check your details. Only SMods can and even at that it's not something they do without just cause.

Elphaba · 01-04-2009 1:35pm

R3nu4l I love your threads! First the Summer project, Now the cinema! I'm so having a walk down memory lane this lunchtime! I'm from Hillcrest too btw. The cinema was like the centre of the universe to me!! ET was the thing I remember most and having to be removed from the building cos I was crying so much over him getting taken away near the end!

mikefitznyc · 15-03-2012 5:37am

IvySlayer, the butcher that used to be up there, wasn't Collins, was it? Beside the Cottage Stores? How long are they gone now, I'm out of Ireland since the mid '90s. Also, last time I was home, noticed that Carroll's butchers in the village was derelict, that's long gone too? Used to be two Carroll families living there, as far as I remember.

Heroditas · 15-03-2012 9:21pm

Isn't the butcher shop down in the village still run by the Collins?
The one beside Power and Smullen....

lord lucan · 15-03-2012 9:42pm

Heroditas wrote: »

Isn't the butcher shop down in the village still run by the Collins?
The one beside Power and Smullen....

Yep,still a Collins butchery.

Mikefitz,Carrolls is gone a long time now. The site is in a prime location in the village but sadly it's just a magnet for posters for the latest circus in town.

stoneill · 21-03-2012 4:15am

The Groovy Grove!
The Last Film I saw there was Lady and the Tramp.

Have you noticed the apartment that are now on site look a little worse for wear - a bit shabby and beginning to show signs of aging - they might not even last as long as the cinema!

stoneill · 21-03-2012 4:25am

r3nu4l wrote: »

Incidentally, my parents knew both the Peter Brady and Jim Sweeney mentioned in the caption, quite well

Peter Brady was acting as grand Martial at the parade again this year and loving it!
Jim Sweeney - still some fantastic photographs in his studio window!

Are they ever going to bring back the Mayor of Lucan? (sponsered by Kenny's of course!)

Also BigJ the hardware store - all my destroy it yourself skills were learned from there.

Down where Topaz petrol station is - (still called the Jet Hill), that's where the Lucan car factory was making those bubble cars. Opposite it where Village Court (China town) was a cottage. That's where my father in law was born.

The road from Courtney's up towards superquinn - it is always referred to as Adamstown road on maps. We have always called that the Lock road.
What do you know it as?

finnigan · 21-03-2012 7:34pm

stoneill wrote: »

The road from Courtney's up towards superquinn - it is always referred to as Adamstown road on maps. We have always called that the Lock road.
What do you know it as?

I always knew it as the hollow hill

r3nu4l · 21-03-2012 9:56pm

stoneill wrote: »

Also BigJ the hardware store - all my destroy it yourself skills were learned from there.

I still call that area BigJs and still call it the Jet hill too

The road from Courtney's up towards superquinn - it is always referred to as Adamstown road on maps. We have always called that the Lock road.
What do you know it as?

finnigan wrote: »

I always knew it as the hollow hill

I always called it the Lock road too but referred to the wooded area as the hollow

msbusterpuss · 22-03-2012 4:50pm

Im from hillcrest too so this is a great thread to see - the first movie I ever saw in any cinema was in that cinema and it was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, I remember being amazed. Does anybody remember the garden centre just up from ardeevin, across from the old sorting office? Big Js and the cottage stores they are some memories - the lady from the shop well she would be elderly now lives across the road from me. memories!

mikefitznyc · 22-03-2012 4:58pm

I remember the garden centre there alright, and the lads running the fruit and veg stalls there? There was also a tyre place too, would've been in the early to mid '80s. And the old BP garage, anyone remember that? We used to get loads of our tyres for the halloween bonfire there, hoping they wouldn't be nicked by lads from other estates!!

r3nu4l · 22-03-2012 5:18pm

msbusterpuss wrote: »

Im from hillcrest too so this is a great thread to see - the first movie I ever saw in any cinema was in that cinema and it was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, I remember being amazed. Does anybody remember the garden centre just up from ardeevin, across from the old sorting office? Big Js and the cottage stores they are some memories - the lady from the shop well she would be elderly now lives across the road from me. memories!

Yup, I remember the garden centre alright, is there anything on that site now? Last couple of times I was home there was nothing there.

I miss the cottage stores, I bought so many penny sweets and lucky bags from that place as a kid

When you refer to the 'old lady' are you referring to the original owners wife (Mrs Langan) or Mrs Smith? I knew them both and in fact one of my earliest memories in my life is from about 1977-78 when my Dad was talking to Mr Langan and I was sitting in my buggy watching him. Mr Langan gave me a free lollipop and I remember being chuffed

mikefitznyc wrote: »

I remember the garden centre there alright, and the lads running the fruit and veg stalls there?

Ah, someone else who remembers the fruit and veg market where the sorting office is now.

msbusterpuss · 22-03-2012 5:28pm

r3nu4l wrote: »

Yup, I remember the garden centre alright, is there anything on that site now? Last couple of times I was home there was nothing there.

I miss the cottage stores, I bought so many penny sweets and lucky bags from that place as a kid When you refer to the 'old lady' are you referring to the original owners wife (Mrs Langan) or Mrs Smith? I knew them both and in fact one of my earliest memories in my life is from about 1977-78 when my Dad was talking to Mr Langan and I was sitting in my buggy watching him. Mr Langan gave me a free lollipop and I remember being chuffed

I honestly cannot tell you and I walk by it most evenings with the dog :rolleyes: typical. Ill let you know tomo if I am around that way this eve. I'm referring to Mrs Smith - I cannot recollect Mrs Langan at all but I am sure its probably in the depths of my memory somewhere! I used to queue in the post office around the side to buy money for stamps for my cyril the squirrel card and walk back up through the lane. I was never so put out when they got rid of that lane. My shortcut gone for ever :mad:

r3nu4l · 22-03-2012 5:38pm

msbusterpuss wrote: »

...walk back up through the lane. I was never so put out when they got rid of that lane. My shortcut gone for ever :mad:

Couldn't believe it when I saw that lane was gone! In fact, getting back to my original topic, I remember once arranging to meet friends at BigJ so we could go to the cinema and we decided to meet up at the top of the lane before going to the cottage stores to buy food and snacks for the film

Little Alex · 22-03-2012 10:07pm

mikefitznyc wrote: »

I remember the garden centre there alright, and the lads running the fruit and veg stalls there? There was also a tyre place too, would've been in the early to mid '80s. And the old BP garage, anyone remember that? We used to get loads of our tyres for the halloween bonfire there, hoping they wouldn't be nicked by lads from other estates!!

That's right, there was a fruit and veg place in there. Yer man was a larger than life character who used to round the prices down to the nearest 5p. They also had a shed or something with all sorts of second-hand rubbish laid out on long tables for sale.

Afer that there was a tyre place there and they even sold Yugo cars for a while.

mikefitznyc · 24-03-2012 1:02am

There was an old house in there too, I used to pass on my way down to the bus stop at BP every day, and then, on past BP, there was a turn right up to the Spa Hotel/Leixlip etc, and a left past Crowe's Corner and the golf course. Wish someone had thought to take photos of that whole area, there used to be swampy marshland at the bus stop after the BP too. I'm getting way too obscure here though!

stoneill · 25-03-2012 6:30pm

r3nu4l wrote: »

I always called it the Lock road too but referred to the wooded area as the hollow

And the No-Name club or "The Social" in the Hollow?

bohsboy · 29-03-2012 12:06am

What about "Mackers" up the back of Airlie Heights? Some carry on up there. Then there was the cornfields over at Hillcrest. The Community Centre used to seem miles away from AGP.

Ah nostalgia.

Little Alex · 29-03-2012 2:39am

mikefitznyc wrote: »

There was an old house in there too, I used to pass on my way down to the bus stop at BP every day, and then, on past BP, there was a turn right up to the Spa Hotel/Leixlip etc, and a left past Crowe's Corner and the golf course. Wish someone had thought to take photos of that whole area, there used to be swampy marshland at the bus stop after the BP too. I'm getting way too obscure here though!

Right, whilst we're at it...

The old house was originally a residential house. The Ma was telling me - because we were talking about it only a few weeks ago - that the people who owned the house had an orchard and used to sell bags of apples. At some stage after that it became the offices of an engineering or construction company.

After that was the BP garage. There used to be a really glamorous-looking lady that worked there back in the 80s, back in the unglamorous 80s. I remember myself and two others finding a fiver one day and going in to the BP to spend our money like lords. We even bought a ten box of Major! :pac:

Next to that was where the Annadale Restaurant was until recently. Billy Byrne's Garage used to be there too. Before Annadale opened the house there was abandoned for years. There was an orchard there too. Next to that was some sort of a warehouse. We used to call it "The Warehouse" and that's where we smoked our Majors that we bought with the fiver we found that day. Across the road fro that was Crowe's Corner, where Santa famously arrived one year by helicopter. Then there was that marshland that went as far as Lucan Golf Club. There was a pathway from there up to the back of Woodview. The "bridge" across the stream was a left-behind concrete sewage pipe.

In fact there was lots of left-behind building site rubbish... there was an old digger in "The Warehouse", another one in the field between Woodview and the fruit and veg place, beside the big, fallen tree. Everyone's clothes lines were made from forgotten scaffolding poles too!

There was also the roof beams left from the knocked down chicken factory which was there before Woodview was built, where the old bus stop used to be.

bohsboy wrote: »

What about "Mackers" up the back of Airlie Heights? Some carry on up there. Then there was the cornfields over at Hillcrest. The Community Centre used to seem miles away from AGP.

Ah nostalgia.

Macker's Barn, at the back of De Burra.

Nostalgia would break your heart, alright!

mikefitznyc · 24-04-2012 6:16am

Alex, thanks for the info, really took me back! It's a shame how there are no photos available of Lucan from that era, or at least those parts of lucan. As for that girl in the BP, good Lord, I remember her alright. She'd an English accent, or at least, a posh Irish one(!), and drove a sporty black car. I was about nine or so, think I must've gone to the BP about fourteen times a day at one stage.

The_Conductor · 09-06-2012 9:06pm

Heroditas wrote: »

Isn't the butcher shop down in the village still run by the Collins?
The one beside Power and Smullen....

Yes- Niall- Joe's son, runs it. Its a real gourmet butcher to be honest- expensive, but so so good! Its the only place in the region that sells Kelly's of Ballina Black and White pudding........ Its so dangerous going in there

The_Conductor · 09-06-2012 9:23pm

We were from the other end of Lucan- and didn't go to Goobay's (or Goobase as we liked to call it) all that often. Before Hemrycks was a snooker hall- it was a supermarket too, back in the 70s and early 80s. Ann Hemryck was the person who introduced me to the joys of Nutella chocolate spread- 30 years ago!

We had the fruit farm- up the Clonee Road- which I'm embarassed to say featured on quite a few school tours, along with episodes of 'Ear to the Ground' and Radharc.

I'm actually living in one of the duplexes where the cinema used be- and it was also where I saw my first film- ET in my case, back in 1982. I think I saw it 4 or 5 times in the cinema.

McCormacks was originally run by old Mr. McCormack- before his niece Mrs Williams took over. Her son still lives there (I think he is a famous opera singer).

The village green was done up by South Dublin Co. Co. a few years ago- we had a great laugh over it- anyone from the area knew it belonged to the Presbeterian church- and they did indeed assert their ownership when the job had been done. Lol.....

We used go to Gilmartins for conkers- up behind Weir View, and dry them in the hotpress for a forthnight before damaging each other's fingers in the school yard. Marbles- I remember one kid's father was a mechanic and gave him a box of the most ridiculous ball bearings. We were so pissed when he won everything off us all. Wonder where he is now.....

Its great reminising about Lucan- it really was a lovely little village to grow up in, its a pity its been destroyed by poor planning (and rezoning) decisions......

We never did get the library there- where Carey's Newsagent is either

mattjack · 27-06-2012 12:20am

Nice thread folks, I,m from Lucan too and the first film I saw in the Grove cinema
was Moonraker and I saw a rat there too, I can remember fights in the cinema too.

Lumbo · 27-06-2012 11:40pm

mattjack wrote: »

Nice thread folks, I,m from Lucan too and the first film I saw in the Grove cinema
was Moonraker and I saw a rat there too, I can remember fights in the cinema too.

Only one rat?????? Lucky you.

I remember going to see Rambo, as advertised. The Care Bears movie came on instead. There was nearly a riot in the place. They done that sort of stuff all the time.

Billy de Bollix · 30-08-2013 1:19am

Jeeze lads I know its been a long time since someone posted on this thread!!! but talk about memories! I was born in the house behind the cinema! next door to Sadie's Lucan printers and I remember looking at the kids swimming off the weirs out the top windows. I also worked for Barney and Triona in the CO-OP in the eightees. My memories of Cormacks were climbing down beside Toolans Bookies into the Demesne along the Griffeen and finding all the spinners, Floats and giving them back to Mrs Cormack and she used to let us take whatever new spinner we wanted...unless we found a great one! Gallivanting down St. Eds and getting home to find my Da could mysteriously know I was there?!!! Great childhood hanging around the village! They have destroyed it with greed now...Lawlor and the rest of them shower should have done time for the dodgy dealings for Lucan alone. Its full of poxy housing estates that all look the same and have no character. Hey does anyone remember the travel agents on crowes corner? The bridge would now be on top of where the orig buildings used to be?

The_Conductor · 30-08-2013 6:42am

Hi Billy- do you remember the second fruit farm on the Clonee road- aka the one across the road from St. Catherines? That was my families. I'd forgotten about Barney and Triona in the Coop- and all those rows of bottles of sweets behind them. McCormacks was run by Mrs Williams, a niece of the Old Mr. McCormack. Her son is still living there- I believe he is a quite famous opera singer. Remember Mr. Noonan in the boys school- thats his son Paul in Bell X1. A few old families are still around too- Matt Farrelly and his amazing car repair business in Lucan Heights (and Clane), Toolans (several of them are still around), Old Mr. Carey is still in the Newsagent (though I doubt he'd like to be called 'Old'), McDonald Brothers- the estate agent is now run by Barry and Emma- the next generation of McDonalds etc etc etc. The village is not what it once was- indeed in the morning and evening its a rat run for people avoiding the toll bridge- but there are still a lot of the old characters around- and if you stop to talk- you'll discover quite a few original Lucaners, who have over time made their way back to the village.

Billy de Bollix · 30-08-2013 12:22pm

Hey ye Conductor! I remember your fruit farm well!! In fact so well that I took my new girlfriend (now my wife) up there on one of our first dates to pick strawberries....needless to say your delicious strawberries were not the only dessert I got up there that day! I know Matt and Josephine Farrelly very well! He had the garage up beside you circa 1989/90 after his move from the old Texaco garage beside Ma Reilly's. An absolute gentleman, and no tales of dodgy mechanical work or dealings either. The whole family in fact were lovely. You know I know you and you would know me...but lets leave that there! Did you guys own the square build "new" house beside the farrelly garage? It was new and had little velux windows...then suddenly it was abandoned? I have been up to the "Germans" to get my dogs hair cut a couple of weeks ago and I noticed all the bungalows and farm houses up off the lower rd/ bleach green hill are abandoned... such a shame. Even the one before you go up the hill from weir view on the right that had the horse riding paddock. Saddens me....Conductor, I dont look at the world with rose tinted glasses but...we did have a great little childhood in that town didn't we? Hey do you remember Gerry Cosgrove travel agants with his tattoos all over his body and head!?

The cinema in Lucan

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