Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D, welcomed the announcement of National Cinema Day, which is taking place across the country on Saturday 3rd September.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin said, “Irish cinemas provide a diverse cultural offering to a wide-ranging demographic of audiences. I welcome the announcement of National Cinema Day which gives an opportunity to experience the big screen this coming Saturday with €4 tickets for all shows, all day.”
“My Department provided funding to 15 cinemas recently under the Commercial Entertainment Capital Grant Scheme which provided funding for capital projects and works that responded to the challenges associated with COVID-19 and that supported the recovery of the creative, cultural, entertainment and events sector.”
“It has been a tough two years for many people but the pandemic really demonstrated the importance of social outlets for our collective wellbeing. The local cinema is a valuable social and educational service to communities across Ireland and offers the opportunity to audiences and potential filmmakers to foster a passion for film and storytelling on screen. Ireland has one of the highest rates of cinema-attendance per capita in Europe and I want to sincerely thank all of our cinema operators and cinema workers for their hard work and dedication over the past two years.”
Whether located in large cities, smaller towns or rural areas, cinemas are modern meeting places that help stimulate dialogue on a range of important issues, combat social exclusion, revitalise interest in culture and foster innovation and creativity. Following a very challenging 2020, last year’s strong performance by the Irish cinema sector sent a clear signal that audiences were eager to return to the Big Screen.
Cinema tickets for National Cinema Day can be purchased through the websites of participating cinema’s and their box offices.