Cillian Murphy and his wife Yvonne McGuinness have purchased the iconic Phoenix cinema to prevent it from closing.
On Thursday (November 21), speculation was rife in Dingle, Ireland about a potential new owner for the venue after estate agent Anthony Fitzgerald posted a cryptic image on social media.
Alongside an image of his shop window, he teased: “Can anyone guess which property is missing from the pocket on this window display??……. some big news coming on this place very soon …… stay tuned.”
Now, as per the Irish Independent, it’s been confirmed that the Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy and his wife, artist Yvonne McGuinness, were the ones who bought the property for an undisclosed fee.
“I’ve been going to see films at the Phoenix since I was a young boy on summer holidays,” Murphy said. “My Dad saw movies there when he was a young man before me, and we’ve watched many films at the Phoenix with our own kids. We recognise what the cinema means to Dingle.”
McGuinness added: “We want to open the doors again, expand the creative potential of the site, re-establishing its place in the cultural fabric of this unique town.”
The Phoenix has been in operation as a cinema and dance hall for 105 years, and will now remain independently owned.
Located in the town centre of Dingle, the Phoenix is the only cinema in a Gaeltacht area in Ireland, a fact which will be acknowledged in its new programming. For the last several years a campaign has run in the town with the aim of preserving it as a cinema and cultural centre.
In other news, Murphy recently shared that his best mates from Ireland still “slag” him off despite winning an Oscar for his role in Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer.