Paris, Texas returns to Limerick, Ireland
Remembering the Grand Central Cinema
Carla Burns

The Grand Central Cinema on Bedford Row was roughly resurrected for one short evening on Friday 11th September when I screened Wim Wenders’ film ‘Paris, Texas’. This gorgeous and dreamlike masterpiece tells the story of Travis (Harry Dean Stanton), an amnesiac who is found wandering the desert by his brother and returned to civilization to be reacquainted with his young son and his lost love. My work echoes Travis’ journey, as the film is partly concerned with fragmentary memory and the attempt to reclaim oneself by piecing together these fragments.

I would like to pay homage to the life of the past Limerick cinemas. I have been collecting newspaper articles and stories, and revisiting the sites of former cinemas to rescreen films that once showed there. ‘Paris, Texas’ was last seen on the big screen in Limerick in 1985 at the Bedford Row cinema, which was then called the ‘Central Studio’. I wish I had been there, and I loved seeing those desolate and dazzling images of the Texan desert projected on Limerick walls once again. The venue is beautifully renovated but retains none of its cinema fittings, so a colourful makeshift cinema was in place for the evening.

Friday was the opening night of Wim Wenders Weekender. On Saturday evening I screened ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ on the outside wall of the Theatre Royal on Cecil Street. The Royal was a cinema before it became a music venue, so it was ideal for Wenders’ 1999 documentary about ageing Cuban musicians. On Sunday I moved down to the former site of the Lyric Cinema on Glentworth Street for a very special outdoor screening of ‘Wings of Desire’, a stunning visual poem set in Berlin.

All screenings were free of charge. The screenings are supported by ‘Creative Limerick – Connect to the Grid’, a new City Hall initiative which connects vacant commercial buildings in the city centre with people who work in the creative industries.

A massive hug and thank you to all who helped, especially Lise Ann Sheahan of Limerick City Hall.



Makeshift cinema in the old Grand Central Cinema on Bedford Row

Photo courtesy of the wonderful Emma Jervis

Usherettes Paula Bourke-Girgis, Slainne Linnane, Amy Taylor & Catherine O'Brien                           Photo from Emma Jervis

Screening of 'Paris, Texas' at the old Grand Central Cinema 

Photo from Emma Jervis