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🇮🇪 Ireland /Culture & Society

State memorial marks 100 years since Dromcollogher cinema fire

From RTÉ News · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Ireland is holding a State commemoration in Dromcollogher for the 48 people who died in the cinema fire on 5 September 1926.
  • The blaze spread through a temporary upstairs cinema after a candle ignited highly flammable nitrate film, trapping many people inside.
  • Survivors’ families and local representatives say the ceremony will honor the victims and preserve the disaster’s place in Irish history.

A century after 48 people died in a makeshift cinema in Dromcollogher, the town is holding a State ceremony to remember the victims of one of Ireland’s deadliest disasters.

My grandaunt was one of the survivors. When we were young, she used to tell us stories about how she escaped out a window.

· Delilah ShineShe described a family account of her grandaunt’s escape from the fire.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan will officiate at the ceremony at midday. The tragedy, known locally as “The Burning,” took place on 5 September 1926, when about 150 people gathered to watch two films in a temporary cinema in County Limerick.

A candle fell during the screening and ignited highly flammable nitrate film. The fire spread rapidly through the venue, which stood upstairs in a large wooden loft. A wooden ladder provided the only way in or out. Some people near the exit escaped, but many others became trapped as the intensity of the blaze made rescue efforts extremely difficult.

He came to the cinema that night with his friends Jack Fehan and Edward Stack. They were 15 years of age. Edward Stack was about 22 years of age.

· Pat LordanHe recalled the ages and circumstances of the people who attended the cinema with his father.

The 48 victims represented about one tenth of Dromcollogher’s population. More than half were under 25, including 15 children. The youngest were two seven-year-olds. The disaster continued to shape the local community and the wider region.

Edward Stack stayed behind to help other children escape and my father always said his abiding memory is of him lifting children to the window to help them escape. Unfortunately, he lost his life.

· Pat LordanHe described how Edward Stack helped children before dying in the fire.

Families still preserve stories of survival and sacrifice. Delilah Shine said her grandaunt escaped through a dressing-room window, while Pat Lordan recalled that his father survived with slight burns. His father’s friend Edward Stack stayed behind to help children escape and died after lifting them toward the window. Gerry Keyes of the Dromcollogher 26 group called the commemoration “a fitting and respectful tribute” to the victims and their families, and a way to ensure the tragedy is not forgotten.

A fitting and respectful tribute

· Gerry KeyesHe used the phrase to describe the State commemoration for the victims and their families.
About this summary

Originally published by RTÉ News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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