A night at the flicks... a bygone era in Armagh

We'd love to hear some of your stories

Picture houses, ah the good old days! The anticipation of seeing the latest blockbuster film on the big screen. Rows upon rows filled with people, amid plumes of cigarette smoke and beer bottles clinking under plush velvet seats! It really is the stuff of legend.

Many will remember it as the thing to do - getting dressed up and heading to the flicks with your sweetheart. Many Armachians will recall The Ritz Cinema and The Cosy in Armagh and The Savoy in Portadown. Many a ‘snog’ or two was had in the back row… so we’re told anyway!

The Ritz Picture House was known for its royal treatment of patrons, complete with plush seats set on cast iron feet and velvet curtains. Originally, built for the Union Cinemas chain, it was taken over by the Associated British Cinemas (ABC) chain (not the Council) and ultimately closed its doors in 1980. We hear it found a new lease of life at one stage as a roller-rink, memories of skate dates are also very welcome!

Who remembers the minor’s matinee club when the youngsters of the time would have packed the house out on a Saturday afternoon? And Auntie Margaret?

The former Ritz Cinema Armagh. Photo credit cinematreasure.org

A sad day indeed when this gem was demolished to make way for the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre - not that the Market Place any less than a very worthy successor on the site!

But is it the same nowadays? It’s all a bit modern - then again, everywhere was modern at a time. Maybe we look back through nostalgic eyes! But it has to be said, there was a certain decadence to the ‘picture palaces’ that we seem to have lost along the way.

Maybe you were an usherette selling your wares? No popcorn back then!

We can’t help but wonder what memories were lost with the building. Maybe you have a story you can share with us, we’d love to hear it!

Today, many of the old picture houses across Co Armagh have either fallen into disrepair, or have been put to different use - where Armagh Picture House once stood is now home to Armagh Credit Union. The Cosy, gone; Keady picture house (The Scala or ‘The Flea Pit’ as it was rather un-affectionately known by locals), gone; one you mightn’t have known of – Gilford cinema, once housed in the current library building on the main street! Can you name any others?

They remain an important part of our past and continue to be a reminder of a time when going to the cinema was a special and social event.

This week we joined the Libraries NI team for a nostalgic look back at the old picture houses of Armagh. It was great meet some past employees and cinema goers who shared their own experiences

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Cash and jewellery stolen from house in Scarva

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A County Armagh man who punched a nurse to the face and chased another around a room has been jailed for four months.

Daisy Hill Hospital is on the “brink of collapse” and the Southern Trust’s Chief Executive should “consider her position”. Those are the strong words of SDLP MLA Justin McNulty

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Ticket giveaway

Congratulations to Jean Webb you have only gone an won yourself a pair of cinema tickets! (For the Omniplex - not the Ritz) Give us a shout on 028 37 443 043 or call at the office to collect your tickets

Remember if your not in you can’t win !

This competition is ran in conjunction with Omniplex Cinemas and has no cash alternative. Tickets must be collected from our office on Barrack Street, Armagh

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Look back

As aforementioned, the Ritz sadly closed its doors to film-fanatics in 1980. However, according to The Armagh Guardian in December of the same year, it had taken a local business consortium a mere matter of months to transform the interior of the premises to welcome a new kind of reveller.

Rebranded as The Ritz Roller Club, the doors were reopened and the once ‘sloping floors’, now levelled, filled with roller-skate clad disco dancers.

The article describes the club as being the new ‘in spot’ for recreationally deprived teens. Boasting a rink that catered for 400 people, an 800 square foot seating area, pool tables, video gaming equipment and a tuck shop; the club’s ethos was built around providing high-energy entertainment.

It didn’t stop there! The consortium behind the building’s transformation had made the decision to retain some of the cinema’s former glory and had secured plans for a 200 seat cinema to be built above the main hall.

The Ritz Cinema 1950, provided by Armagh County Museum from the Ernest Scott collection.

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