Limerick Athenaeum
Encyclopedia
Limerick Athenaeum was a centre of learning, established in Limerick City, Ireland in 1852.
, the goddess of arts and wisdom.
John Wilson Croker
founded the Athenaeum Club
in London in 1823, beginning an international movement for the promotion of literary and scientific learning. Croker was of Anglo-Irish parentage with connections in County Limerick
. Other founder members of this club included William Blake
, Robert Peel
, Lord John Russell, Sir Thomas Lawrence, T.R. Malthus
, Sir Walter Scott, Michael Faraday
, William M. Turner and others. The club published a literary and scientific journal, The Athenaeum
, which survived until 1921.
The Athenaeum movement spread throughout the world. In England, Athenaii were located at Bristol
, Leeds
, London and Manchester
. In Ireland, the Cork Athenaeum was built by public subscription in1853; this was later to become the Cork Opera House
, and Dublin had an Athenaeum at 43 Grafton Street in 1856. In Scotland, the Glasgow Athenaeum started in Ingram Street in 1847 and is today's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In the United States of America there are Athenaii at Boston
, Chicago
, New York
and other centres.
in1862 and Lord Mayor of Dublin
in 1867. In 1869 he was appointed the Crown and Treasury Solicitor for Ireland. Lane Joynt apprenticed as a solicitor to Matthew Barrington of the leading law firm Barrington & Co. The Barrington
family lived at Glenstal Castle
and built Barrington's Hospital for the citizens of Limerick. In 1853, Lane Joynt, as President of the Limerick Literary & Scientific Society, proposed the establishment of a Limerick Athenaeum in a letter written to the society's committee. The letter was entitled Suggestions For The Establishment Of A Limerick Athenaeum and its embodying suggestions were adopted unanimously. He died in 1895 and is buried in the grounds of the churchyard at St. John's Square, Limerick.
of the colony
of New South Wales
in Australia, who founded the present Australian education system and in 1855 the first farmers' association in Ireland, the Farmers' Club. A building at No. 2 Upper Cecil Street was purchased from Limerick Corporation
in February 1855 and work began on its conversion. The building had been constructed in 1833-34 as the Offices of St. Michael's Parish Commissioners to the plans of John Fogarty, who is noted for the design of Plassey House, now the nerve centre of the University of Limerick
.
It re-opened on December 3, 1855 with classes provided by the School of Ornamental Art
. The new Athenaeum Hall, which was constructed adjacent to the original building, was opened to the public on January 3, 1856, with the first Annual General Meeting
of the Athenaeum Society. It was described as the ‘finest hall for its special purposes, in Ireland’. Natural light came from three domes in the high roof and there was an orchestra gallery and seating for up to 600 people. The building was both lecture hall and theatre, intended for both entertainment and education.
The first show to be staged, in January 1856, was a Panorama show of the Crimean War
. These shows used early multimedia techniques of sound, provided by an orchestra, visual effects via the magic lantern
, and a live narration by an actor to expose the reality of current events. At the time it was a milestone in communication techniques and a precursor to the factual documentaries of television. Many of the leading international theatrical performers of the day would grace the theatre of the Athenaeum over the coming years. Some notable performers included:
The Athenaeum also hosted a regular series of lectures and debates and some of the more notable speakers included:
s of many of these clubs which, taken with the accounts of the fund-raising social events and concerts, provide a fascinating insight into sporting life in the city in the 19th century. Some of the notable clubs that can trace their foundations back to the Athenaeum are:
moved from the Athenaeum building to newly constructed premises in O'Connell Avenue. The now vacant lecture hall was leased out by the Technical Education Committee of the Corporation and reopened as the Athenaeum Permanent Picturedrome. It operated successfully until the affects of the Second World War began to take hold in the early 1940s. The first newsreel shown at the Athenaeum was in 1913 with a film of the Garryowen
v University College Cork rugby match, which created intense excitement in the city. Notably, the Athenaeum opened its 'talkie' programme with the Al Jolson
musical film Say It With Songs
to celebrate St Patrick's Day in 1930.
In October 1930, The Athenaeum installed the ultramodern Western Electric
Sound System, in time for the newly released Juno And The Paycock
, an Alfred Hitchcock
adaption of Sean O' Casey's
play. However, the film only received one showing before members of the Limerick Confraternity
raided the projection box and stole two reels of the film which were later burnt outside the cinema by a mob of at least twenty men in Cecil Street. Outbreaks of moral condemnation from Limerick's pulpit
s saw "filthy" cinema posters removed by lay vigilantes, including 1932's Blonde Venus
, starring Marlene Dietrich
and Cecil B. DeMille
's 1934 version of Cleopatra
. The Sunday Times
previewed Sotheby's
Spring 1996 auction of old cinema posters in which their investment analyst stated "(they) have become an art genre in their own right" and placed an estimate of £6,000 and £10,000 on the posters respectively.
The effects of the Second World War became too much for the tenants and they gave up their lease in 1941. Attempts by other interested parties, including theatre groups, to negotiate a lease with the VEC, proved unsuccessful, with only sporadic openings over the next few years. The last films in the Athenaeum Cinema were shown in November 1946.
's musical Night And Day. Limerick cinema goers enjoyed many films at The Royal over the next 30 years or so. In the early 1980s a number of factors began to impact on the cinema trade. The growing popularity and availability of video cassette recorders inspired the growing trade of the video rental shops, which in turn, accelerated a decline in cinema audiences. A further problem in Ireland was the 23 per cent VAT
rate on cinema admissions. Indeed, this was cited as an "intolerable burden" and the reason for the ultimate closure of the cinema. A Limerick Leader
article noted that Limerick, which once had 4,600 cinema seats was now reduced to one cinema, the Carlton. Efforts by Alderman
Jim Kemmy
, TD
and others to save the cinema, failed. The last film to be screened at the cinema was Police Academy 2, in March 1985.
or the Gaiety in Dublin...". During the renovation, many of the architectural features of the original hall were carefully restored, including the three ceiling domes.
According to the new management, the purpose of the new theatre was to provide live music concerts to young people and to provide them with an alternative venue. After a slow start, the venue began to gain in popularity and for Mary Black
's concert in December 1989, Limerick audiences queued in the streets outside the theatre for the first time since John McCormack's concert in 1905. In February 1990, classical music was reintrocduced to the theatre when the Tuckwell Wind Quartet
gave a performance and two weeks later the Irish Operatic Repertory Company from Cork
revived opera at the Royal with a choir of 45 singers.
Disaster struck the Theatre Royal on 6 March 1990 when the newly restored theatre went on fire. The cause was an electrical fault. There were no personal injuries but the damage to the theatre was severe. The theatre required major reconstruction once again and was re-opened on Sunday, February 3, 1991 by Mr Brendan Daly, T.D., Minister of State
for Heritage Affairs, Department of the Taoiseach
in the presence of the Mayor
, Mr. Madden and members of Limerick Corporation to a musical performance by Mary Black
.
In December 1991, a relatively unknown local band, called The Cranberries
played to a small audience in the theatre. Word spread quickly and their second performance a few weeks later was a sell-out. The band went on to sell an estimated 43 million albums worldwide before disbanding in 2003. The band returned to play in the theatre a number of times up to 1994.
Channel 4
filmed a sequence of their award winning comedy series, Father Ted
, in the theatre in December 1995. Indeed, both Dermot Morgan
and Ardal O'Hanlon
were regular performers at the theatre during the 1990s. The Corrs
(1994), Boyzone
(1994, 1995) and The Prodigy
(1995) all performed at The Theatre Royal before they achieved mainstream popularity. Other notable performers included Dolores Keane
, Sharon Shannon
, Don Baker
, Paul Brady
, Davy Spillane
, Liam Ó Maonlaí
, Julian Lloyd Webber
and The Saw Doctors
. Despite the relative success of the venue, The Theatre Royal closed for the last time in 1998.
as the "One Day" Boys School. In 1973 the City VEC moved its Administrative Headquarters from O'Connell Street
to the Athenaeum Building. In 2003 a €1m Department of Education & Science funded refurbishment programme was completed. This refurbishment project was carefully designed to preserve the historical building's important architectural features, including external facade, internal stairways and sash windows while at the same time providing the most modern in terms of access, furnishing and technology.
In the late 1990s, ownership of the Athenaeum Hall reverted to the VEC and they are still considering possible uses for it.
Background
Athenaeum, also Athenæum or Atheneum, is used in the names of institutions or periodicals for literary, scientific, or artistic study. It may also be used in the names of educational institutions. The name is formed from the name of the classical Greek goddess AthenaAthena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
, the goddess of arts and wisdom.
John Wilson Croker
John Wilson Croker
John Wilson Croker was an Irish statesman and author.He was born at Galway, the only son of John Croker, the surveyor-general of customs and excise in Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated in 1800...
founded the Athenaeum Club
Athenaeum Club, London
The Athenaeum Club, usually just referred to as the Athenaeum, is a notable London club with its Clubhouse located at 107 Pall Mall, London, England, at the corner of Waterloo Place....
in London in 1823, beginning an international movement for the promotion of literary and scientific learning. Croker was of Anglo-Irish parentage with connections in County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. Other founder members of this club included William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
, Lord John Russell, Sir Thomas Lawrence, T.R. Malthus
Thomas Malthus
The Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus FRS was an English scholar, influential in political economy and demography. Malthus popularized the economic theory of rent....
, Sir Walter Scott, Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
, William M. Turner and others. The club published a literary and scientific journal, The Athenaeum
Athenaeum (magazine)
The Athenaeum was a literary magazine published in London from 1828 to 1921. It had a reputation for publishing the very best writers of the age....
, which survived until 1921.
The Athenaeum movement spread throughout the world. In England, Athenaii were located at Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, London and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. In Ireland, the Cork Athenaeum was built by public subscription in1853; this was later to become the Cork Opera House
Cork Opera House
Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in the Republic of Ireland. It was originally built in 1855, although its existence has not been continuous; having survived the burning of much of Cork by British forces in reprisal for an ambush of a military convoy in 1920 by Irish rebels,...
, and Dublin had an Athenaeum at 43 Grafton Street in 1856. In Scotland, the Glasgow Athenaeum started in Ingram Street in 1847 and is today's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In the United States of America there are Athenaii at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and other centres.
Founder
The founder of the Limerick Athenaeum was William Lane Joynt who achieved the unique distinction of being elected Mayor of LimerickLimerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
in1862 and Lord Mayor of Dublin
Lord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin is the honorific title of the Chairman of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent is Labour Party Councillor Andrew Montague. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the...
in 1867. In 1869 he was appointed the Crown and Treasury Solicitor for Ireland. Lane Joynt apprenticed as a solicitor to Matthew Barrington of the leading law firm Barrington & Co. The Barrington
Barrington
- Australia :* Barrington, New South Wales* Barrington River * Barrington Tops National Park, New South Wales* Barrington, Tasmania* Barrington, Queensland- Canada :* Barrington, Nova Scotia* Barrington Head, Nova Scotia...
family lived at Glenstal Castle
Glenstal Abbey
Glenstal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery located in Murroe, County Limerick. It is dedicated to Saint Joseph and Saint Columba. The current abbot of the monastery is Dom Patrick Hederman, OSB...
and built Barrington's Hospital for the citizens of Limerick. In 1853, Lane Joynt, as President of the Limerick Literary & Scientific Society, proposed the establishment of a Limerick Athenaeum in a letter written to the society's committee. The letter was entitled Suggestions For The Establishment Of A Limerick Athenaeum and its embodying suggestions were adopted unanimously. He died in 1895 and is buried in the grounds of the churchyard at St. John's Square, Limerick.
Early years
Following a public meeting in April 1853, a fund-raising committee was established and they had amassed £1200 by October of that year. One of the first subscribers was Sir Richard Bourke, GovernorGovernor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of the colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in Australia, who founded the present Australian education system and in 1855 the first farmers' association in Ireland, the Farmers' Club. A building at No. 2 Upper Cecil Street was purchased from Limerick Corporation
Limerick City Council
Limerick City Council is the local authority which is responsible for the city of Limerick in Ireland. It is the responsible for local government, sanitation, motor vehicles tax, and social housing.-History:...
in February 1855 and work began on its conversion. The building had been constructed in 1833-34 as the Offices of St. Michael's Parish Commissioners to the plans of John Fogarty, who is noted for the design of Plassey House, now the nerve centre of the University of Limerick
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
.
It re-opened on December 3, 1855 with classes provided by the School of Ornamental Art
Limerick School of Art and Design
Limerick School of Art and Design or LSAD is an art college in Limerick City in Ireland. The school is one of the five constituent schools of Limerick Institute of Technology and operates on two of LIT's campuses in Limerick City, located on Clare Street and George's Quay; both are about 2KM from...
. The new Athenaeum Hall, which was constructed adjacent to the original building, was opened to the public on January 3, 1856, with the first Annual General Meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
of the Athenaeum Society. It was described as the ‘finest hall for its special purposes, in Ireland’. Natural light came from three domes in the high roof and there was an orchestra gallery and seating for up to 600 people. The building was both lecture hall and theatre, intended for both entertainment and education.
The first show to be staged, in January 1856, was a Panorama show of the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. These shows used early multimedia techniques of sound, provided by an orchestra, visual effects via the magic lantern
Magic lantern
The magic lantern or Laterna Magica is an early type of image projector developed in the 17th century.-Operation:The magic lantern has a concave mirror in front of a light source that gathers light and projects it through a slide with an image scanned onto it. The light rays cross an aperture , and...
, and a live narration by an actor to expose the reality of current events. At the time it was a milestone in communication techniques and a precursor to the factual documentaries of television. Many of the leading international theatrical performers of the day would grace the theatre of the Athenaeum over the coming years. Some notable performers included:
- Catherine HayesCatherine HayesCatherine Hayes [married name Bushnell] was the first Irish-born opera diva to achieve international acclaim....
, the Limerick-born, internationally acclaimed divaDivaA diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
gave a benefit performance of Handel's Messiah in aid of the procurement of musical instruments for the Limerick Harmonic Society - 1857. - General Tom ThumbGeneral Tom ThumbGeneral Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton , a dwarf who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum.-Early life:...
& P.T. Barnum - 1858. - Percy French, a leading songwriter and entertainer of his day - 1894, 1899, 1912.
- John McCormack, the famous opera singer - 1905.
The Athenaeum also hosted a regular series of lectures and debates and some of the more notable speakers included:
- William Smith O'BrienWilliam Smith O'BrienWilliam Smith O'Brien was an Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen's Land. In 1854, he was...
, an Irish Nationalist, Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) and leader of the Young IrelandYoung IrelandYoung Ireland was a political, cultural and social movement of the mid-19th century. It led changes in Irish nationalism, including an abortive rebellion known as the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Many of the latter's leaders were tried for sedition and sentenced to penal transportation to...
movement - 1857. - John BrightJohn BrightJohn Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
, MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, English orator and statesman - 1868. - Issac Butt, founder of the Home Rule LeagueHome Rule LeagueThe Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a political party which campaigned for home rule for the country of Ireland from 1873 to 1882, when it was replaced by the Irish Parliamentary Party.-Origins:...
- 1872, 1877. - William Abraham, MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and Irish Land League activist - 1875, 1889. - Charles Stewart ParnellCharles Stewart ParnellCharles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
, Irish nationalistIrish nationalismIrish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
political leader, land reform agitator, Home RuleHome ruleHome rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
MP - 1880. - John RedmondJohn RedmondJohn Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918...
, MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and leader of the Irish Parliamentry Party - 1882, 1889. - Michael DavittMichael DavittMichael Davitt was an Irish republican and nationalist agrarian agitator, a social campaigner, labour leader, journalist, Home Rule constitutional politician and Member of Parliament , who founded the Irish National Land League.- Early years :Michael Davitt was born in Straide, County Mayo,...
, Irish RepublicanIrish RepublicanismIrish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and founder of the Irish National Land LeagueIrish National Land LeagueThe Irish Land League was an Irish political organization of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farmers to own the land they worked on...
- 1884. - Maud GonneMaud GonneMaud Gonne MacBride was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars...
, the Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress - 1900. - Michael CusackMichael CusackMichael Cusack was an Irish teacher and founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association.-His Life:...
, co-founder of the GAAGaelic Athletic AssociationThe Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
- 1903. - Christabel PankhurstChristabel PankhurstDame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, DBE , was a suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union , she directed its militant actions from exile in France from 1912 to 1913. In 1914 she became a fervent supporter of the war against Germany...
, suffragetteSuffragette"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
and daughter of Emmeline PankhurstEmmeline PankhurstEmmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote...
- 1911. - Sir Roger Casement and Patrick PearsePatrick PearsePatrick Henry Pearse was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916...
, Irish RepublicansIrish RepublicanismIrish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and architects of the 1916 Easter Rising - 1915.
Sports Clubs
The Athenaeum provided meeting-rooms where people got together to form a variety of sporting clubs. The Athenaeum Archives have the Reports of AGMAnnual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
s of many of these clubs which, taken with the accounts of the fund-raising social events and concerts, provide a fascinating insight into sporting life in the city in the 19th century. Some of the notable clubs that can trace their foundations back to the Athenaeum are:
- Limerick Boat Club - founded in 1870.
- Garryowen Football ClubGarryowen Football ClubGarryowen Football Club , usually referred to as Garryowen, is a rugby union club from Limerick, Ireland. Historically it has been one of the most successful clubs in Irish rugby union leagues.-Name:...
- founded in 1884. - Limerick Golf ClubLimerick Golf ClubLimerick Golf Club is located at Ballyclough, on the southern outskirts of Limerick City, in Ireland. It is one of the oldest golf clubs in Ireland, founded by Alexander Shaw in the same year as the Golfing Union of Ireland, in 1891. The course and clubhouse are located on the original site of...
- founded in 1891.
Athenauem Permanent Picturedrome
The Athenaeum Hall began to double as a theatre and cinema in the early 1900s, a common trend in theatres with the advancement of silent films, newsreels and 'talkies' into the 1930s. Control of the Athenaeum had been passed to Limerick Corporation and the Technical Education Committee (later the Vocational Education Committee) in 1896. In 1912, the Technical Education classes and part of the Limerick School of ArtLimerick School of Art and Design
Limerick School of Art and Design or LSAD is an art college in Limerick City in Ireland. The school is one of the five constituent schools of Limerick Institute of Technology and operates on two of LIT's campuses in Limerick City, located on Clare Street and George's Quay; both are about 2KM from...
moved from the Athenaeum building to newly constructed premises in O'Connell Avenue. The now vacant lecture hall was leased out by the Technical Education Committee of the Corporation and reopened as the Athenaeum Permanent Picturedrome. It operated successfully until the affects of the Second World War began to take hold in the early 1940s. The first newsreel shown at the Athenaeum was in 1913 with a film of the Garryowen
Garryowen Football Club
Garryowen Football Club , usually referred to as Garryowen, is a rugby union club from Limerick, Ireland. Historically it has been one of the most successful clubs in Irish rugby union leagues.-Name:...
v University College Cork rugby match, which created intense excitement in the city. Notably, the Athenaeum opened its 'talkie' programme with the Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
musical film Say It With Songs
Say It with Songs
Say It With Songs is a 1929 All-Talking musical drama motion picture which was released by Warner Bros.. The film starred Al Jolson and was a follow-up to his previous film, The Singing Fool .-Production:...
to celebrate St Patrick's Day in 1930.
In October 1930, The Athenaeum installed the ultramodern Western Electric
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
Sound System, in time for the newly released Juno And The Paycock
Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock is a play by Sean O'Casey, and one of the most highly regarded and oft-performed plays in Ireland. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924...
, an Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
adaption of Sean O' Casey's
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
play. However, the film only received one showing before members of the Limerick Confraternity
Confraternity
A confraternity is normally a Roman Catholic or Orthodox organization of lay people created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy...
raided the projection box and stole two reels of the film which were later burnt outside the cinema by a mob of at least twenty men in Cecil Street. Outbreaks of moral condemnation from Limerick's pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
s saw "filthy" cinema posters removed by lay vigilantes, including 1932's Blonde Venus
Blonde Venus
Blonde Venus is a 1932 is a Pre-Code drama film starring Marlene Dietrich and Cary Grant. The movie was produced and directed for Paramount Pictures by Josef von Sternberg with a screenplay by Jules Furthman and S. K. Lauren adapted from a story by Furthman and von Sternberg. The music score was by W...
, starring Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
and Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
's 1934 version of Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1934 film)
Cleopatra is a 1934 epic film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and distributed by Paramount Pictures, which retells the story of Cleopatra VII of Egypt....
. The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
previewed Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
Spring 1996 auction of old cinema posters in which their investment analyst stated "(they) have become an art genre in their own right" and placed an estimate of £6,000 and £10,000 on the posters respectively.
The effects of the Second World War became too much for the tenants and they gave up their lease in 1941. Attempts by other interested parties, including theatre groups, to negotiate a lease with the VEC, proved unsuccessful, with only sporadic openings over the next few years. The last films in the Athenaeum Cinema were shown in November 1946.
The Royal Cinema
The completely reconstructed Royal Cinema, with 600 seats, opened with a fanfare of publicity on November 17, 1947. The first film to be shown was Cole PorterCole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's musical Night And Day. Limerick cinema goers enjoyed many films at The Royal over the next 30 years or so. In the early 1980s a number of factors began to impact on the cinema trade. The growing popularity and availability of video cassette recorders inspired the growing trade of the video rental shops, which in turn, accelerated a decline in cinema audiences. A further problem in Ireland was the 23 per cent VAT
Vat
Vat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...
rate on cinema admissions. Indeed, this was cited as an "intolerable burden" and the reason for the ultimate closure of the cinema. A Limerick Leader
Limerick Leader
The Limerick Leader is a weekly local newspaper in Limerick, Ireland. It was founded in 1889. The newspaper is headquartered on O'Connell Street....
article noted that Limerick, which once had 4,600 cinema seats was now reduced to one cinema, the Carlton. Efforts by Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Jim Kemmy
Jim Kemmy
Jim Kemmy was an Irish socialist politician from Limerick, who started his political career in the Labour Party...
, TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
and others to save the cinema, failed. The last film to be screened at the cinema was Police Academy 2, in March 1985.
The Theatre Royal
The dereliction of the old Athenaeum continued until 1989 when it was purchased by a local businessman. In an interview with The Limerick Post, a director of the new Theatre Royal Company said "We see it primarily as a theatre and would compare it to the OlympiaOlympia Theatre, Dublin
The Olympia Theatre is a concert hall/theatre venue in Dublin, Ireland, located in Dame Street.-History:Built in 1879, it was originally called the "Star of Erin Music Hall". Two years later in 1881, it was renamed "Dan Lowrey's Music Hall" and was renamed again in 1889 to "Dan Lowrey's Palace of...
or the Gaiety in Dublin...". During the renovation, many of the architectural features of the original hall were carefully restored, including the three ceiling domes.
According to the new management, the purpose of the new theatre was to provide live music concerts to young people and to provide them with an alternative venue. After a slow start, the venue began to gain in popularity and for Mary Black
Mary Black
Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....
's concert in December 1989, Limerick audiences queued in the streets outside the theatre for the first time since John McCormack's concert in 1905. In February 1990, classical music was reintrocduced to the theatre when the Tuckwell Wind Quartet
Barry Tuckwell
Barry Emmanuel Tuckwell AC, OBE , is an Australian horn player who has spent most of his professional life in the United Kingdom and the United States.- Early life and education :...
gave a performance and two weeks later the Irish Operatic Repertory Company from Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
revived opera at the Royal with a choir of 45 singers.
Disaster struck the Theatre Royal on 6 March 1990 when the newly restored theatre went on fire. The cause was an electrical fault. There were no personal injuries but the damage to the theatre was severe. The theatre required major reconstruction once again and was re-opened on Sunday, February 3, 1991 by Mr Brendan Daly, T.D., Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for Heritage Affairs, Department of the Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
in the presence of the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, Mr. Madden and members of Limerick Corporation to a musical performance by Mary Black
Mary Black
Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....
.
The Cranberries
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...
played to a small audience in the theatre. Word spread quickly and their second performance a few weeks later was a sell-out. The band went on to sell an estimated 43 million albums worldwide before disbanding in 2003. The band returned to play in the theatre a number of times up to 1994.
Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
filmed a sequence of their award winning comedy series, Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
, in the theatre in December 1995. Indeed, both Dermot Morgan
Dermot Morgan
Dermot John Morgan was an Irish comedian, actor and former schoolteacher, who achieved international renown for his roles as Father Ted Crilly in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and a strip club MC in Taffin....
and Ardal O'Hanlon
Ardal O'Hanlon
Ardal O'Hanlon is an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his roles in television sitcoms as Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted and George Sunday in My Hero.-Early life:...
were regular performers at the theatre during the 1990s. The Corrs
The Corrs
The Corrs are an Irish band which combine pop rock with traditional Celtic folk music. The brother and sisters are from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea ; Sharon ; Caroline ; and Jim .The Corrs came to international prominence with their performance at the...
(1994), Boyzone
Boyzone
Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...
(1994, 1995) and The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
(1995) all performed at The Theatre Royal before they achieved mainstream popularity. Other notable performers included Dolores Keane
Dolores Keane
Dolores Keane is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the successful group De Dannan, and has since embarked on a very successful solo career, establishing herself as one of the most loved interpreters of Irish song.-Background:Keane was born in a small village...
, Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon is an Irish musician. She is best known for her work with the accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 album Sharon Shannon is the best selling album of traditional Irish music ever released there...
, Don Baker
Don Baker (musician)
"Donald Baker" redirects here. You may be looking for the plaintiff in Baker v. WadeDon Baker is an Irish blues musician and actor....
, Paul Brady
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
, Davy Spillane
Davy Spillane
Davy Spillane is a songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle.early yearsDavy was born in Dublin in 1959 . At the age of 12 he started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him and inspired him with his love of all music genres...
, Liam Ó Maonlaí
Liam Ó Maonlaí
Liam Ó Maonlaí is an Irish musician best known as a member of the Hothouse Flowers. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin....
, Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
and The Saw Doctors
The Saw Doctors
The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in Ireland, including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1990, and still holds the record for the...
. Despite the relative success of the venue, The Theatre Royal closed for the last time in 1998.
Current Use
The original Athenaeum Building was used as a school from the 1940s to the 1960s and was known in LimerickLimerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
as the "One Day" Boys School. In 1973 the City VEC moved its Administrative Headquarters from O'Connell Street
O'Connell Street, Limerick
O'Connell Street is Limerick's Main Thoroughfare. It was previously known as George's Street until it was renamed after Daniel O'Connell. Shops on O'Connell Street include Penneys, Debenhams and Brown Thomas...
to the Athenaeum Building. In 2003 a €1m Department of Education & Science funded refurbishment programme was completed. This refurbishment project was carefully designed to preserve the historical building's important architectural features, including external facade, internal stairways and sash windows while at the same time providing the most modern in terms of access, furnishing and technology.
In the late 1990s, ownership of the Athenaeum Hall reverted to the VEC and they are still considering possible uses for it.