The Regal Cinema was a film theatre that operated for almost a quarter of a century in Dublin, Ireland, until its closure in 1962.
History Also known as the Regal Rooms Cinema, it was located in Hawkins Street, adjacent to the Theatre Royal. Both venues were owned by the same company, Irish Cinemas Ltd. The cinema opened on Holy Saturday, 16 April 1938.The Irish Times, 8 April 1938, p. 6 It was designed by architect Michael Scott.The Irish Times, "Regal Cinema opening", 7 April 1938 The first film screened was the screwball comedy, True Confession, starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray.The Irish Times, "Films of the week", 18 April 1938
In May 1955, the Regal closed while renovations took place. The side balconies were removed to increase the seating capacity to 900.The Irish Times, "Cinema closes for renovations", 23 May 1955Irish Independent, "Royal and Regal will be offices", 15 February 1962 It reopened on 19 August with the Walt Disney movie, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.The Irish Times, "Nemo dives again", 22 August 1955
Premieres The Regal had its greatest success in February 1960 as the first Dublin cinema to show George Morrison's documentary, Mise Éire. In the first week of its run, over 16,000 people viewed the film, breaking all previous box office records at the venue.The Irish Times, "16,525 have seen 'Mise Eire'", 13 February 1960 In October 1961, the sequel, Saoirse?, was also given its Dublin première at the Regal.The Irish Times, "Ministers see new Irish film", 21 October 1961
On 26 April 1962, a film version of Synge's The Playboy of the Western World, starring Siobhán McKenna, had its world premiere at the Regal.The Irish Times, "'The Playboy' as a film", 26 April 1962 By then, news of the cinema's imminent closure had reached the media.The Irish Times, "Theatre Royal and Regal to close", 15 February 1962
Closure On 30 June 1962, the Regal Cinema closed down.The Irish Times, "Theatre Royal to close next month", 16 May 1962 The last film to be screened there was a re-issue of a British comedy, Upstairs and Downstairs.The Irish Times, "Requiem for the cowboy", 25 June 1962 The final event at the cinema was a sale of its fixtures and fittings held on 12 July. Among the items auctioned was the big screen, which was sold for £90.Irish Independent, "£90 for Regal Cinema screen", 13 July 1962 The owners attributed their decision to rising costs and a shortage of good quality films. The building was subsequently demolished and replaced by a twelve-storey office block, Hawkins House, headquarters of Ireland's Department of Health.
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