‘If Walls Could Talk!, The Story of an Irish Theatre est. 1852’ is a seminal work on the history of Limerick’s entertainment world – which has embraced celebrity at every echelon over two centuries.
From Houdini the escape artist to soprano Catherine Hayes, from Billy Connolly to The Cranberries, we reference The Limerick Athenaeum, known today as Theatre Royal on Cecil Street.
In more recent times it became a venue for international bands, raves and comedians in the 1990s but those Athenaeum walls were privy to the best in showbiz, be it The Prodigy or 1860’s The Garrison Glee Club.
Why talk about Th’ Ata now, you may wonder? Because the researcher and compiler of this hefty tome, ‘If Walls Could Talk!’, Mr James McMahon, died peacefully at home this month.
James (69) was a scion of the mighty McMahon timber family, “who were the biggest merchant family in Limerick,” observes Seamus Flynn, latter-day owner of Theatre Royal. It was Seamus who commissioned James – historian, photographer and artist (stain glass) – to source evidences to the legend.
The business man had taken over this defunct building from Ward-Anderson multiplex on the undertaking he would never screen cinema there. And so its renaissance as a theatre house began. Seamie got The Corrs to play there, Del Amitri, Mick Hanly, Jonathan Lloyd Webber, names as big as their 19th and 20th century predecessors. Count John McCormack got billed as a support act in 1905, and Percy French entertained the masses.
“I met with James in 1992/93,” Seamus Flynn recalls. “I told him of the project, a newly restored concert hall/ theatre in the heart of Georgian Limerick …which I believed had colourful history that included a performance by the great Houdini. James came on board to research and guide the project”.
“The result was ‘If Walls could Talk’, the history of the Limerick Athaneum from 1852 and each week of its 150yr life was researched”.
“Brendan O’Carroll was one of the first stars to come and he credited Limerick on his video shot here from the Theatre Royal, ‘How’s Your Snowballs’.
“He is one of the performers who helped fund the writing project, they all contributed.
“You see, we ran the Theatre Royal at very, very low cost. Everything was paid from box office, there was no funding. Boyzone played at least twice before they ever played in Dublin, with Louis Walsh driving them around and an episode of Fr Ted was made there”.
Other artists who contributed were The Cranberries and The Hitchers. Everyone was tapped for a few quid and they gave graciously.
Seamie continues: “In 1996 ‘If Walls Could Talk’ was one of the first books launched by the Minister for Education on the Internet. Limerick was suffering from poor national image at that time and this…could be used to positively promote the city and the venue.
“The result is regarded by serious historians and President of the Georgian Society, the Knight of Glin, as an important first-generation contribution to the history of Limerick.”
Leafing through 100+ illustrated pages is a juicy read. There is a serious appendix of sources, from ‘The Viceroys of Ireland’ to newspapers such Limerick Post to the archives of ‘The Dublin Builder’.
James’ work was also responsible for the Athenaeum Museum and portrait gallery. The first portrait was that of Catherine Hayes by Sir Frederick Burton; the first item was the Thomas Edison sound machine.
Book production credits to Guy Monteilh, and Limerick Post’s Kieran White and Damien Clifford.
For James McMahon (1946 – 2015), RIP
