History of the Town


The Savoy Cinema

In 1944 The Savoy Cinema was built on the site where the old Queen's Hotel stood (it's now The Community Centre). Meenaghans, the builders, did a good job of construction as materials were scarce, and they had to improvise quite a lot. War was raging, and it was a bleak time in Ireland because most necessities were rationed.

After much debate with his peers, J. P. Roughneen decided to reconstruct the "Queens", and make it into a cinema. The men with whom he discussed the project were D. Kirby, Charles Gilmartin and Jimmy Lavin . They all assisted, financially and otherwise, and before long the cinema was up and running.

The cinema opened on a Sunday night, in autumn, with the first film-"The four feathers". It was packed with enthusiastic people on that opening night, so long ago. The older men and women were just as excited as the children. Everyone thought of it as the dawn of a new era in entertainment. All looked forward to a happier time, as films would be shown three times a week, as well as Sunday night.

All went well for a number of months until The Electricity Supply board decided that they could no longer guarantee power; the cinema had to close. A gloom descended on the town and the surrounding area. The owners decided what to do. Jimmy Lavin was confident that they could produce their own power, with the use of a car engine. This was duly done.

T.J. Mullaney, a young man from Aiden St. was the projectionist. He worked as a driver for J. P. Roughneen. Later, Johnny Carroll from Thomas St. took over the job. Crowds flocked to The Savoy.

Everything went well, apart from the times when there was trouble with the generator. It was a great success, and audiences, sitting in soft seats in the balcony or harder seats on the ground floor, enjoyed such classics as "Gone with the Wind", "Random Harvest", "Going my Way" and "The song of Bernadette".
In the summer of 1957, and in the early hours of the morning, fire broke out in the building. Nobody seemed to know what caused it, but the cinema ceased to exist. It left a great void in the lives of many, in the town of Kiltimagh.

The following poem was composed at this time to mark the occasion of the opening of The New Savoy:

For years we've heard of "talkies" and of Hollywood afar.
If we wanted to see a picture, sure we had to hire a car.
Then the war came on, and the "juice" was scarce,
and many a night was spent Walking the streets of Kiltimagh, on entertainment bent.

Chorus:
Then JP, Tony, Jimmy and Charlie,
They are the real McCoy,
They certainly turned the corner boys
Into The New Savoy.

Of troubles and of worries boys, they certainly had their shares,
The ESB just blacked them out, and said they didn't care.
Then Lavin worked the Yankee "dodge" in true American style,
With Mullaney at the engine, boys, she's good for many a mile.
Chorus:

The boys and girls of Kiltimagh were always very shy,
They didn't meet in public, but they did meet on the sly.
Now our Savoy has changed all that, and for gossip no one cares,
And now they do the "jitter bug" right up those middle stairs.
Chorus:

Community Centre undergoing renovation

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Country Dance halls around Kiltimagh

Carrick Hall, known locally as O'Brien's Hall, opened for business in 1937. Soon it became very popular. Young people from all over the parish, and beyond, travelled there every Sunday night. They came by bicycle, on foot, or even on the back of a horse or donkey.

The dances started very early in those days. At eight o' clock the band began to play, and couples took to the floor soon afterwards. The dance usually finished by midnight.

Hundreds of young people met here. Romances inevitably blossomed, and, in many cases led to marriage.

The most popular band was Sloyan's. A few brothers played in the band. Tony Begley assisted them, on the drums. Tony was known throughout the length and breadth of the countryside.

The cost of admittance, in the early days was four old pence. Later, the cost rose to six old pence. Dances in the hall continued until the late 1940's

Ballinamore Hall, known as Glynn's, opened about the year 1939. It, too, was a great success. It was somewhat larger than Carrick Hall.

The entrance fee was slightly dearer than Carrick Hall. In the early years, admittance was one shilling (five pence), later it cost one shilling and three old pence.

Bands for Castlebar, Westport and, of course, Murtagh's band form Kiltimagh, supplied the music.

Again, this band flourished for a decade or more. Patrons came form all parts of the parish. Many crossed Sliabh Cairn to make their way to the Hall.

The era of the country dance halls in the Kiltimagh area came to an end. They couldn't compete with the bigger bands, in The Town Hall.