| By Kathy
O’Sullivan
THIS week marked the
end of an era in Killorglin as one of its most famous
landmarks ‘The Oisin Ballroom’ was demolished almost 70
years after it first opened its doors.
Famous throughout
Kerry, The Oisin Ballroom attracted people to its dances for
almost 40 years and it was also the building where the first
sound film was shown in Killorglin in September 1938.
The late Michael
Houlihan and his sons built the ballroom on Iveragh Road in
1938. Work began on February 25 and the builders worked late
hours to ensure it was completed in time for Puck Fair on
August 10.
It was the first
ballroom in Killorglin to have a Maples Spring Floor and its
owner Patrick Duffy Shea also built dance halls in Glenbeigh,
Castlemaine, and Glin in Limerick.
The crowds flocked
to ‘The Oisin Ballroom’ and it was particularly busy during
Puck Fair when thousands came to the dances held there.
Only three of the
ballroom’s builders are still alive, Patrick and Michael
Houlihan and Michael McMahon.
Patrick Houlihan
recalled this week the huge crowds that attended the dances
and films at ‘The Oisin Ballroom’.
“It was a wonderful
achievement to build such a hall in 1938 as there was no
machinery or concrete mixers then. The people in the town
had a great interest in it and we worked late hours to make
sure it got finished in time for Puck Fair,” he said.
“The first talking
film was shown there in September 1938 – ‘Three Smart
Girls’. I remember you could buy minerals and cigarettes.
The ballroom’s popularity began to decline after the CYMS
hall was opened in 1954. It has been closed down for past 16
years but there is no doubt there is a part of Killorglin’s
history gone with the knocking of ‘The Oisin Ballroom,” he
said.
A spokesperson for
the AIB confirmed this week that the bank had bought The
Oisin Ballroom and would be building a new bank on the site.
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