Belltable

Formerly known as Coliseum Theatre, Gaiety Cinema

69 O’Connell StreetGoogle Maps

This Georgian townhouse building was purchased by a man named Michael Gough in the early 20th century. It was converted into an opera house named the Coliseum, where Gough’s daughter Lena – a trained opera singer – performed regularly and produced plays and operettes.
The accomplished Arts and Crafts and modernist architect William Clifford Smith was commissioned to develop the existing facade and interior of the building.
The theatre later began screening silent films, and went on to be the first cinema to screen a talking film in Limerick (Al Johnson’s The Jazz Singer, 1928).
In 1981, the site was established as The Belltable, the first regional arts centre in Ireland. It remains in operation to this day.
It has been used as a venue for EVA for six editions – in 2012, 2008, 2007, 2005, 1999 and 1988 – as well as for every edition for the Young EVA exhibitions.
This site was one of ten listed venues for the 35th edition of EVA in 2012, curated by Annie Fletcher (b. 1971, Ireland) and titled After the Future.
In 2012 the Project Arts Centre facilitated an autonomous exhibition programme designed in response to research of the Israeli Center for Digital Art’s Video Archive. Curators Kate Strain (b. 1983, Ireland), Megs Morley (b. 1981, Ireland) and Padráic E. Moore (b. 1982, Ireland) were invited to carry out research in the archive and develop three exhibitions for the Belltable space.