The Silver Sandal opened on November 26th, 1963, a joint venture between Derrylin man Willie Gilleece and Sligo's Sean Byrne.
Willie owned the pub across the street (bottom right in the photo below) and would eventually buy out Sean and become the sole
owner of the ballroom. The ballroom costs £25,000 to build and could hold 2,000 dancers. In 1969, the ballroom was closed
and was redecorated and refurbished. It re-opened on October 24th, 1969 with Cecil Thompson handling the booking of the bands
for Willie who renamed the ballroom the Sunflower Ballroom. Sadly the ballroom's new found success would be short lived
as in 1972 it was bombed by the IRA. Badly damaged, it sat idle for several years and was finally demolished in 1976.
All that remains of the once proud Silver Sandal is some concrete steps in a field (photo below). Willie Gilleece sadly
passed away on December 18, 2014 aged 88 years old. Sean Byrne passed away April 11, 2016.