“DROMCOLLOGHER Remembers – Memories of the Past”, the 2025 calendar is now on sale in local Dromcollogher stores and was launched at an information day at the town hall last Saturday.

The event was organized by the Dromcollogher26 Group research team, the local community group which was formed to work towards the centenary of the Dromcollogher cinema disaster.

The Saturday information day was well attended. Its objective was to open the debate on The Burning (the cinema disaster) and its consequences as well as to consider the future commemoration.

There was an interesting display of documents and photographs on pedestals and tables in the hall, available to visitors. Many people brought their own memories as well as their own family stories.

All of these will be tracked and added to the emerging narrative of how Dromcollogher and its people coped with the great disaster. The contribution and cooperation of everyone who contributed to this event is greatly appreciated.

As for the calendar, it is proving extremely popular. It includes so many photos that almost every family in town is included. Priced at €10, the calendar will be an essential gift for Dromcollogher’s friends and relations all over the world.

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The Dromcollogher cinema disaster was a tragedy that occurred in 1926, when 48 citizens of the small town of West Limerick lost their lives. These people, aged between seven and 68, were attending a film screening in the attic of a local warehouse.

A candle ignited the extremely flammable reels of nitrocellulose film, setting fire to the wooden structure which had only one exit. This meant that for many, escape was impossible – resulting in significant loss of life. It was a tragic accident that shocked the entire country and reverberated around the world.

Occurring so soon after the founding of the state, the Dromcollogher cinema fire is one of the most terrible disasters in modern Irish history. The Stardust disaster that occurred in 1981 has many parallels with the Dromcollogher cinema disaster: public entertainment, local theater, young people, hell, and exactly the same toll: 48 lives lost!

All of these events are very tragic, but, in such a small community, the level of devastation caused by the cinema disaster in Dromcollogher was extreme – almost one in ten residents perished in the horrific fire.