Another glimpse of Ballymoney's past uncovered

HAND painted posters from Ballymoney Palladium have been unearthed by a local collector, writes David Thompson.

Peter Thompson discovered three posters - dating from the 1960s - a time when the High Street premises were in their hey-day. The venue, which has been closed for over 40 years now, was once a key part of life in the town.

The discovery of the posters has brought the history of cinema in the town back into focus. Pictures were first shown in Ballymoney back in the 1920s. The initial venue was in the parochial hall in Castle street, and pictures and news reels would have been shown there.

In September 1936 the purpose-built Ballymoney Palladium was opened on High Street. During the second World War, before people got their news through television, the pictures provided people with images from the front line that they would not have been able to see otherwise.

As Peter points out, “It is hard to imagine now, when we get so much news through the television, what an experience it would have been for people to go and see news reels. This was their only way to see the news that they would read about in the newspapers.”

The Palladium drew people together from across the community, attracted by some of the biggest blockbusters of the day. “It is not just today that people are able to see the big movies from America, the same was true back then. Films were available in Ballymoney not that long after they were released over there” Peter said.

The poster that was of most interest to Peter, was one that was hand painted. “They mustn’t have been able to get a proper poster on time, but they still had to advertise what was being shown. So they improvised, and someone has hand painted a poster, which advertises the Ballymoney Palladium, and the films on offer there at that time”, he said. The poster dates all the way back to 1968, and the fact that it is hand painted, makes it a very special find.

The hand painted poster was promoting fims such as [INSERT FILM NAMES]

They would have been amongst the last posters on display at the Palladium, as it closed the following year.

After the cinema closed in 1969, the pictures returned to Castle Street. In a way, cinema in the town had returned to its spiritual home. A community group set up by residents of Castle Street are producing a leaflet in the coming months, detailing the history of the street. It will focus on the people who lived there down through the generations. The street’s association with film in Ballymoney, including the newly uncovered posters, will also feature.