Lelia Doolan

Lelia Doolan, a former Artistic Director of the Abbey Theater, Chairperson of the Irish Film Board and award-winning television producer and documentary film maker, has been a driving force in Ireland’s theater, film and television world since her pioneering time in the early days of Irish national television.    Her latest project is building Galway’s first arthouse cinema: The Picture Palace which is scheduled to open in the winter of 2013.  The funding for the venture — provided mostly by Irish government and state agencies — is almost complete but given Ireland’s dire economic circumstances there is a shortfall which Doolan is trying to make up.

Picture Palace

Her track record in bringing art and culture to the west of Ireland makes Doolan well-equipped for this kind of challenge: she brought independent cinema to the small villages and towns of rural Ireland in the form of the Cinemobile and she was a founder of the Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland’s premiere film festival. Along with President Michael D Higgins she revived the Irish Film Board 1993 and brought about a rebirth of independent cinema in Ireland.

Bernadette, Doolan’s award-winning documentary on the life of Bernadette Devlin is playing on Sunday, October 7th at the New York Irish Film Festival

A reception for Lelia Doolan and Galway’s Solas Picture Palace will be help at Glucksman Ireland House, NYU 1 Washington Mews, New York, NY 10003  Thursday, October 4th at 7:00 pm.  To  attend, RSVP: kateocallaghan@gmail.com