Famous Limerick venue set to reopen for festival in 2024

LIMERICK’S Theatre Royal in the city centre looks like it will open for the first time in more than 25 years.

The iconic building in Cecil Street has been out of use since 1998.

But now, staff at Ormston House arts centre located at Patrick Street have been granted €20,000 in council funding to hold a festival inspired by Limerick-born Hollywood star Constance Smith.

The festival, named Connie, is set for the Theatre Royal in September 2024.

In a briefing document to councillors, the local authority said it will be “a collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of Limerick-based musicians, theatre makers, film-makers, visual artists, historians and architects to develop and present the work in an innovative, immersive format.”

Starting life as the Limerick Athenaeum, the building became a cinema in the 1940s, before it was bought by a local businessman in the late 1980s when it became the Theatre Royal.

It was a hugely popular music and comedy venue throughout the 1990s, with The Cranberries, The Corrs, Boyzone and The Prodigy among those to have graced its stage before they achieved popularity in the mainstream.

A scene from hit comedy series Father Ted was also filmed there, with its stars Ardal O’Hanlon and the late Dermot Morgan regular performers.

Despite this success, it closed for the final time in 1998.

Attempts to reopen the venue, most notably in 2012 when there was a bid to turn it into an arthouse cinema, have not happened.

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At least 29 other, part-funded by council, festivals and events look likely to be held in Limerick over the next 12 months. It comes after councillors approved the granting of €208,000 to community and voluntary groups up and down to the county to help get their events off the ground.

At this month’s full meeting in County Hall at Dooradoyle, 30 of 34 groups who applied for funding were granted money.

It followed the convening of an assessment panel including Arts Council festivals boss Karl Wallace and cultural consultant Una Carmody, who chaired the group.

While Connie received the highest share of the funding, a number of other festivals are being organised.

The Buladh Bos Childrens’ Festival is back for 2023 and was granted €18,500.

Aimed exclusively at children and their families, it’s a key event in the region’s cultural offering and takes place at the Lime Tree Theatre in the grounds of Mary Immaculate College.

Some €16,900 is going to a Hip Hop and Street Dance Festival.

In Askeaton, €16,100 is being given to its annual festival of contemporary art, entitled Welcome to the Neighbourhood.

Limerick’s Polish population is being recognised with a four-day Polish Arts Festival, granted €14,000.

And the popular Halloween Festival Samhain will make a welcome return to the Medieval quarter, which will host a parade of light later this month.

Some €9,000 has been given to the Lumen Street Theatre company, responsible for the festivities.

Another Limerick staple - our famous lace - will be celebrated. Some €1,200 has been given to the 2023 Amazing Lace symposium.