An Information Evening on the planned centenary events next year to commemorate the 1926 Dromcollogher Cinema Disaster will be held in the local hall (7pm) after the 99th annual Mass at St. Bartholomew’s Church (6pm) this Saturday.
In between, a decade of the Rosary will be recited and a wreath laid at the communal grave, to be followed by a procession to the library for a minute’s silence. It marks the beginning of a very special year of remembrance as the community honours the 48 men, women and children who lost their lives in ‘The Burning’.
“We warmly invite every-one in the community – and beyond – to join us as we begin this important commemoration journey together,” said Gerry Keyes, Chairperson, Dromcollogher26.
“We have some significant plans made and many developments in the pipeline for next year’s commemoration. We’d be delighted to share those ideas with as many as possible through our information evening and launch this weekend.”
He continued: “As we know, The Burning had a profound impact on Dromcollogher, but it also resonated in our neigh-bouring communities, many of whom also lost some good people in the tragedy.
“It has been very heart-ening to find the level of support for our campaign on the ground in Dromcollogher, but also in places like our shared par-ish community in Broadford, nearby in Feenagh and Kilmeedy, and across the border into Cork and Milford and Tullylease.”
Recently, Dromcollog-her26 staged its primary fundraiser through a well-supported Greyhound Benefit Meeting at Lime-rick Greyhound Stadium.
“The generosity shown was amazing, but, beyond that, the positivity and encouragement we receiv-ed was overwhelming. It confirmed to us that commemorating the Cinema Disaster, and remembering the people who were lost, is the right thing to do; something we have to do, and something that we have to do well,” Gerry stated.
The horrific loss of 48 people in The Burning represented a tenth of Dromcollogher’s population almost 100 years ago.
It was the Free State’s first major disaster, which earned it a more sombre fame.