Our moving stories of going to the movies

As the Lighthouse in Dublin reopens, two film producers examine our love of going to the ‘picture house’, writes Jonathan De Burca Butler

WHEN James Joyce opened Ireland’s first cinema, Cinematograph Volta, on Dublin’s Mary Street in 1909, he was embracing the most exciting technology — the moving picture.

Most Dubliners ignored Joyce’s venture, resulting in the sale of the cinema after seven months. The Volta was owned by several companies until it closed down in 1948 to be replaced by the clothes shop Penney’s.