FOLLOWING the news that the ex-Railway Hotel is on the market for £750,000, the sale of the nearby former Ritz Cinema would be rated as a major box office success.
McGovern Estate Agents have a price tag of £500,000 on the one-time 700-seater venue that is advertised on PropertyPal.com as also having a bathroom and one reception.
Opened in 1954, the cinema at 32, Forthill Street, Enniskillen, closed in 1992, ending a magical era for many Fermanagh film lovers.
In an archive Fermanagh Herald article from March 2016, Neil Reed told how for decades his late father Hammie was the resident projectionist at the popular cinema.
With plenty of local characters such as Gerry Breen and Eamon Convey in the projection booth and Mrs Beatty working in the tuck shop, Neil said the Ritz, which also doubled as a music venue, always had a great community feel.
“It was like a big family,” he said. “It was a family-run cinema, and John James McManus was the owner. His son Dermot ran it for most of my childhood.”
The first film ever shown at the cinema was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, one of many big hits down through the decades. In Neil’s time, it was Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars and ET that drew the biggest crowds to the venue.
“Jaws was the first big one I remember, in 1975. They were queued the whole way up around the block and down Belmore Street for that one,” he explained.
“Before people had satellites in their homes they brought in a massive satellite dish to broadcast the Barry McGuigan fight in 1985, when he became the champion of the world. That was very busy, and the adults sneaked in a few cans and so on. I remember watching it, it was brilliant.”
Unfortunately, it’s proving not to be as popular these days.
In June, 2015, the old cinema along with the former Railway Hotel were part of a collective sale for both buildings worth £400,000, by owner David Mahon, director of Castle Archdale Caravan Park and Camping Site.
But despite being described as ‘very prominent properties and very close to the town centre’ by McGovern Estate Agents, no buyer was found for them.
Will it ever be regarded as a ‘prominent property’ again? Only time will tell.
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
