Marc Zimmermann

The Newsreel is probably one of the least known cinemas to have existed in Dublin, which might be due to a large extent to the fact that it was quite well hidden from view, occupying part of the basement of the central bus station on Store Street.

Busáras is one of the first examples of the International Modern Style in Europe built after WWII. This modern structure was designed in the early 1940s by Michael Scott and his team of young architects, which included Wilfrid Cantwell, Kevin Fox, Patrick Hamilton, Kevin Roche, Patrick Scott and Robin Walker. The terminal building was erected over eight years between 1945 and 1953. At the time its construction was highly controversial and public opposition to the building's stark external appearance and its excessive cost (over £1m) was expressed re-peatedly in the media. However, the design eventually won Scott the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland's (RIAI) Triennial Gold Medal for Architecture.

Michael Scott (1905-1988) is considered Ireland's most important 20th Century architect. Among his most important designs are two further Dublin buildings, his home in Sandycove (Geragh; designed 1938) and the Donnybrook Bus Garage, which was completed in 1952. Not unusually for men of his generation, Scott had no formal qualifications in architecture, but apprenticed at the Dublin architectural firm of Jones and Kelly instead.

Before undertaking the Busáras project, which was to include a small picture theatre, he had gained experience designing three striking cinemas, the RITZ in Carlow (c.1938), the RITZ in Athlone (1939) and the RITZ in Clonmel (1940). Throughout his life he was involved in a further number of cinema and theatre buildings, including Dublin's grand, third Theatre Royal (1935) and the new Abbey Theatre (opened 1966).

Exterior Busáras today with mosaic and oscillating roof © Marc Zimmermann

During the design process Scott had suggested accommodating a cinema in the basement of the Busáras terminal to offer entertainment to commuters waiting for the bus. While this idea was new to Dublin, it had already been applied successfully in other European countries such as Germany, which had introduced rotating daytime shows for travellers. These strategically lo-cated cinemas often presented suitably short features that would be repeated in cycles and without interruptions throughout the afternoon. Patrons would be admitted continuously, which meant that they would usually enter in mid-movie. If time allowed, they could stay on after the end of the film, to watch the beginning, which would start without delay. Admission charges for this type of entertainment were typically low at the time.

The cinema auditorium in 1995 © Paul Clerkin / Archiseek.com

Scott's cinema offered the innovative placement of a cinema inside a bus station, maximising patrons' convenience. His venue also deviated from the common fare of short features by showing mainly newsreels, from which it took its name. During the early 1950s news on film were a feature that was still exclusive to cinemas. However, regular television broadcasts would soon become available from the UK in 1955, with Telefis Éireann eventually following suit in 1962. The cinema opened on 19 October 1953 as part of Busáras (which was operated by Bus Éireann), showing newsreels on a 45-minute loop. Most of the Newsreel's interior design had been carried out by Patrick Scott and Robin Walker. The small, single-screen venue offered 150 upholstered seats and featured bespoke light fittings. A cantilevered platform -which alterna-tively could accommodate public speakers- supported a large, freestanding screen. Its fan-shaped auditorium followed the outline of the building above with the screen taking up the pe-rimeter.

Around 1959, four years after TV broadcasts to Ireland had begun, the cinema began to decline. News were now available to watch in the comfort of people's homes and it is likely that the 'novelty' factor of newsreel presentations inside the bus station had worn off.

Although the venue was ill-suited for stage shows due to its lack of a backstage area, it now became the Eblana Theatre. It took its name from what appears to be a corruption of an early moniker for Dublin, coined in 140 A.D. by Ptolemaeus.

The theatre was operated by Phyllis Ryan and her Gemini Productions company. Like the ABBEY THEATRE, Ryan was a major producer of new plays in Ireland during the 1960s and '70s. Her independent theatre premiered most of the works of John B. Keane. Other playwrights such as Brian Friel, Joe O'Donnell and Tom Murphy, who were later adopted by the Abbey and other theatres, first worked for Gemini Productions at the Eblana.

For a short period during the early 1970s the Eblana reverted back to film presentations, now operating as the Fine Arts Cinema Club. However, the growing competition imposed by television eventually made operating the cinema financially unfeasible and resulted in its closure around 1975. It was used as a theatre space again and during the 1990s the Eblana was briefly operated by the Andrew's Lane Theatre and the Northside Theatre Company.

Considering the ill-suited interior of the venue, stage shows became infrequent and subsequently the space was sporadically used as an exhibition hall. It eventually closed in 1995 and the screen, stage and seating were removed when the former cinema was gutted and turned into a left luggage facility. The space is currently not in use and its fate remains uncertain. Although the whole Busáras complex is a protected structure today, such safeguarding came too late for the cinema, which only retains its original floor plan and some light fixtures.

The Newsreel -embedded in a groundbreaking, yet controversial structure combining public transport, offices and entertainment- followed a novel cinema concept, which it managed to keep alive through its uneven history. Although the cinema was small and comparatively short-lived, it filled a unique niche in Dublin's cinematic landscape.

Note: This article first appeared in Film Ireland magazine (issue 116). Marc Zimmermann is the author of The History of Dublin Cinemas article series and book (out now). He also publishes The Cinematograph, the free e-newsletter of the Cinema Heritage Group. To subscribe and/or to find out about the group or book, contact: REMOVE.THIS.PARTheritage_events@yahoo.com