ABSTRACT
In the mid-1930s, the period in which the most vocal demands for an Irish film studio emerged, Irish cinema box office accounted for less than 5 per cent of that of the United Kingdom. The original Shaw/Pascal submission to government concerned the building and equipping of an Irish film studio. Later, this goal was abandoned in the search for production finance for the film versions of Shaw's St Joan and Androcles and the Lion. The agreement, which was never realised, would have involved fifty-fifty financing by Dalton and RKO, provided RKO could choose the star and director. While visiting Hollywood, Elliman had also become convinced of the potential of an Irish film studio. Ardmore Studios was largely planned and staffed in technical grades by English personnel. Some minor technical and craft positions were filled by Irish people. The studios comprised three sound stages and a recording theatre with full dubbing and mixing facilities.
