Winnie Markus outside the Savoy Cinema, Cork

Winnie Markus outside the Savoy Cinema, Cork

Cork Film Festival, Winnie Markus, Dermot Breen, Cash & Co Department Store, Savoy

This is a black and white photo of the Czech-born German film actor Winnie Markus stepping out of a car at the Savoy cinema during the 1956 Cork Film Festival. She is dressed in an elaborate fur-trimmed coat and evening dress and is photographed smiling to her right. An usher is holding a large umbrella over her as she leaves the car and we can see the festival director Dermot Breen just behind the usher.

Crowds gather behind the car as far as the eye can see right up to the limestone facade of the Cash & Co. department store at the junction of Patrick Street and Maylor Street. The origins of the Cash & Co department store began with a Mr Todd who opened a shop at this site known variously as Todds, or Carmichael and Company. It came to be known by locals as Cash's in 1877 when it became a private company with the official name of Cash and Company Limited. It was destroyed by fire, along with its neighbours on Patrick Street including Roches Stores, during the deliberate burning of Cork by Auxiliaries on the nights of 11 and 12 December 1920. A new store was built on the same site using limestone from Little Island, Cork. It has changed hands a few times since then until its sale to Brown Thomas and Company Limited in 1991 after which it is now named.

University College Cork, Cork Film Festival, RW Hammond

Cork Film Festival Collection

University College Cork

1956

RW Hammond

Photo
TIFF
JPEG

English, eng

1956
Cork, Ireland

Photo

165 x 215mm