PROPERTY OF THE WEEK: A change of direction for Dunmanway's old cinema

Former cinema and dance hall on market for €150,000

ONE of West Cork’s most iconic cinemas, The Broadway in Dunmanway, is up for sale after its owners, the Deane family, decided to sell the building that holds fond memories for generations of cinema-goers.

Originally built in the 1930s by Barney and Sabina Deane, the cinema, which brought glimpses of Hollywood sparkles to the market town was also used as the town’s only dance hall in the 1940s.

The couple were known to operate a zero-tolerance policy towards anyone misbehaving when it was a cinema.

The first film to be screened there was Bringing Up Father while the final film to be screened was Sahara, starring Matthew McConaughey and Penélope Cruz.

Matthew McConaughey at the premiere of the film Sahara, the last film to be screened at The Broadway, in 2005. (Photo: Shutterstock)

It was Bernard and Monica Deane who then took over the running of the cinema, before their son Barry took it over in 1995 until it closed 10 years later, due mainly to the rising popularity of the multi-screens.

It meant that the West Cork town has been left without a cinema since, meaning cinema-goers had to travel to Clonakilty or Bantry for their cinema fix.

‘In the early days of the Broadway, a neighbour, Danny Sheehy was a bell man around the town, who would announce what movies were coming next week,’ said Martin Fitzpatrick of Dunmanway-based Lehanes & Associates, who are handling the sale of the building.

‘They also used to advertise notices pasted at the spa bridge and Wilson’s window on Bridge Street.’

Martin said the cinema, located in the heart of Dunmanway, comes to the market with vehicle access to the side giving opportunity to maximise the potential on offer.

‘It is sure to appeal to property investors as the building could be used for many different uses. It was built in the 1930s and extended and renovated in the 1950s and has only recently had a new cladded covering put on the roof leaving the building bone dry.’

For more details or to view the building, which has a guide price of €150,000, contact Martin Fitzpatrick of Lehanes & Associates, Dunmanway on 086-8818888.