Arthouse proposal backed by councillors

Date Published: 13-May-2008

A NEW arthouse cinema and the Museum are to form the backbone of a Cultural Quarter for Galway, which has been described by the City Manager as a ‘tremendous coup’.

Last night, councillors unanimously supported proposals for the cinema on Lower Merchants Road, which will include cinema screens, performance space and a café/bar.

City Manager Joe MacGrath recommended to councillors that following a public consultation process, the cinema be given the green light, saying it would be a major boost to the cultural infrastructure of the city.

“I believe it is a major contribution to the cultural infrastructure of the city and should be a genesis for future cultural developments in that area of the city,” Mr MacGrath said, referring to a number of adjacent properties on Lower Merchants Road which the Council has purchased.

The arthouse cinema plans include a 176-seat cinema at basement level, a ground floor box office with a café/bar, a first floor bookshop with a display area, bar, offices and a public archive room, a 77-seat cinema on the second floor and a 107-seat cinema on the third floor with a retractable screen for performances.

Mr MacGrath said that ……………………