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🇮🇪 Ireland /Disasters & Emergencies

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 will hold a State ceremony marking the centenary of the Dromcollogher cinema fire, which killed 48 people in 1926.
  • A candle ignited nitrate film in a temporary cinema, trapping many people inside; 15 children were among the dead.
  • Local families and the Dromcollogher 26 group say the commemoration will honor victims and preserve the disaster’s place in national history.

A State ceremony in Dromcollogher will mark 100 years since a cinema fire killed 48 people in one of the darkest episodes in Irish history. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan will officiate at the midday commemoration.

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 recalled her grandaunt’s survival of the 1926 fire.

On 5 September 1926, about 150 people gathered in a makeshift cinema in County Limerick to watch two films. A candle fell and ignited highly flammable nitrate film, sending flames rapidly through the temporary venue, which stood upstairs in a large wooden loft. A wooden ladder provided the only way in and out.

Some people near the exit escaped, but many became trapped as the blaze intensified. The 48 dead represented about one tenth of Dromcollogher’s population. More than half were younger than 25, including 15 children. The youngest victims were two seven-year-olds.

We didn't really believe her until we found the National Archives' statement of how she got out the window of the dressing room which is where most of the victims died in the end.

· Delilah ShineShe explained how archival records confirmed her grandaunt’s account.

The disaster remains part of local family memory. Delilah Shine of the Dromcollogher26 committee said her grandaunt survived by escaping through a window, a story the family later confirmed through a National Archives statement. Pat Lordan said his father also survived, while his father’s friend Edward Stack stayed behind to help children reach the window and died in the fire.

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 the actions of his father’s friend during the fire.

Gerry Keyes, chairman of the Dromcollogher 26 group, called the ceremony “a fitting and respectful tribute” to the victims and families affected. He said it recognizes the disaster’s local and national importance and helps ensure that it is not forgotten.

a fitting and respectful tribute

· Gerry KeyesHe described the purpose of the centenary State commemoration.
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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