Briery Gap cinema back next Monday at the Castle Hotel
“WE have not gone away”.
That was the clear and unequivocal message from the board of the Briery Gap Cultural Centre after it announced movie screenings will re-commence at an alternate venue next Monday evening.
While board of management chairman Noel O’Driscoll said he would be “surprised” if the fire damage venue would reopen within the next 12-months, he did say management were determined to put in place a programme of events at alternate local venues as soon as possible.
As a sign of their intent, the Briery Gap will relaunch its cinema offering in the Castle Hotel next Monday at 8.30pm with a screening of the Oscar winning movie ‘ The Revenant.”
Speaking to The Corkman Mr O’Driscoll said the long process of getting the Briery Gap back up and running following the fire at the venue had already commenced.
“We are in the process of sorting out the insurance side of things. Once that has been satisfactorily completed we can move forward with restoring the damage caused by the fire and replacing equipment,” said Mr O’Driscoll.
“This process will take time and I would be surprised if the process will be completed and the building reopened within 12-months. The important thing is that we get our programme of events back up and running. The key message is that we have not gone away,” he added.
To that the board have been busy seeking alternative venues for shows and other events.
“We would like to thank the Castle Hotel for their support in hosting next Monday’s screening and Super Valu Macroom for their support.
“It is a sign of our intent and the support of the public will be greatly appreciated as we being our journey forward after the fire,” said Mr O’Driscoll.
“We will also be undertaking a fundraising drive over the coming weeks to help with the costs of refurbishing the Briery Gap. The support we have received from the local community over the past fortnight has been magnificent and we hope this will continue as we plan for the future,” he added.
For information about future cinema screenings visit www.brierygap.ie or visit the Briery Gap on Twitter and Facebook.