A visit into childhood memories.

Abbey 2 viewed from the screen. 

The Abbey Cinema, Drogheda. 

For many years I have wanted to see the inside of the Abbey Cinema in Drogheda, to see what it looked like now but also to relive some childhood memories.  Many people can still recall the films they saw here, the charactors they met and buying popcorn at the shop.  It is, or rather, was a real part of the local community.  I remember it when it was run by a local family, but in the late 90s or whenever it was bought and run by the IMC group, who redecorated a little, hence the various curtains.  

A poster from 2006 is now all that remains outside the ticket office.

The cinema is private property and is owned by the same company that owns the Abbey Shopping Centre, but permission was granted by the owner and manager for us to enter and take some pictures of the inside.  What we found was  a remarkably intact interior, with only some damage/damp.  Needless to say the place was pitch black inside so tripods and torches were the order of the day and we tended to avoid parts of the upstairs that is now home to live, and not so live, pigeons.  

The projection room was a photographers paradise, and though the projectors themselves has long been removed, there was still lots there to fire the imagination.  The two screens, known as Abbey 1 and Abbey 2, were still there as was the shop where we used to buy tickets etc.  

The one memory that most people seem to remember is the lines of people who used to queue around the corner for a movie, with no quarantee of getting a seat.  As kids we used to wait impatiently on the four flights of stairs, my particular vivid memory, and get excited when we reached to top near the ticket office as we knew we were close, but sometimes we were disappointed and had to wait two hours or more for the film to come around again for our chance to see it.  'Star Wars' was obviously a popular one as was 'Santa Claus the Movie'  and the varoius kids films.  It was good to see the inside again.  Even the old wall mounted coin telephone still worked or had a tone !!!!.  

The memories.......  ..........

The famous stairs where we used to queue in hope.