Balcony Cinema Mountmellick - Weekly Film Screenings

Balcony Cinema keeps a genuinely old-fashioned cinema going in Mountmellick, screening films every Wednesday evening inside what was once the balcony level of the town’s old picture house. The Mountmellick Community Arts Association restored the space as a 134 to 138 seat art deco theatre with a 20-foot screen, and runs it as a weekly film club rather than a commercial cinema, showing classics, films audiences may have missed first time round in the multiplexes, and long-standing favourites. Admission is €5, and the ticket price includes tea and biscuits served before the film.

What to expect

The programme leans toward films you would not easily catch in a modern multiplex: older classics, well-loved titles audiences ask to see again, and the occasional film that had a limited commercial release but built a following since. The room itself is part of the appeal, an art deco theatre carved out of the original balcony section of Mountmellick’s old cinema, restored rather than replaced, which gives the screenings a different feel to a standard cinema outing. Doors open at 8pm with tea and biscuits included in the €5 ticket price, and the evening runs as much as a community gathering as a film screening, with the same faces turning up week after week. The Balcony Cinema is managed by the Mountmellick Community Arts Association, with Ger Lynch and Michael Feely among those running it; check the club’s Facebook page in the days before for that week’s title, since the programme changes weekly.

Getting there

Mountmellick sits roughly midway between Portlaoise and Tullamore, in the north of County Laois. The Community Arts Centre is in the town centre, an easy walk from parking on the main street.

While you’re in Mountmellick

Mountmellick is a compact market town best known for its Quaker heritage and the whitework embroidery style that carries its name, both worth a look before or after a film. There is more to see in Mountmellick and across Co. Laois.

Good to know

• When: Every Wednesday at 8:00pm
• Venue: Mountmellick Community Arts Centre, Mountmellick, Co. Laois
• Price: €5, includes tea and biscuits
• Programme: Changes weekly, check the Balcony Cinema Facebook page for that week’s film
• Recurrence: Weekly, ongoing through the summer season