In collaboration with Age Action Ireland and Maynooth University, the Irish Cinema Audiences project examines the history of cinema-going in 1950s Ireland. The aim of this project is to better understand the impact that cinema had on the everyday lives of ordinary cinema-goers.
Safeguarding Our Cultural Heritage
The generation of cinema-goers that came of age in the 1950s can offer a unique insight into the role that cinema played in the formation of personal, social and national identities. However, as this generation enter their 70s and 80s, and the tangible elements of our cinema-going heritage disappear from towns and cities across the country, our connection to this aspect of Ireland’s cultural history is becoming increasingly fragile.
The stories of ordinary cinema-goers provide a vital link with this chapter of our past and it is important that we preserve their memories for future generations.
Gathering Oral Histories
Irish Cinema Audiences addresses the urgent need to preserve the memories of 1950s cinema-goers by gathering questionnaires and conducting video-interviews with participants across the country.
These oral history testimonies will provide a rich cultural heritage resource for current and future generations. As the project progresses, the memories gathered through this project will be made available on this website.
Irish Cinema Audiences was launched in June 2018 and will run until May 2020.