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Michael Dwyer, access>CINEMA's Honorary Patron and film critic for the Irish Times dies
access>CINEMA's is deeply saddened by the passing of Michael Dwyer, our Honorary Patron and the film correspondent of The Irish Times, who has died at the age of 58 following an illness.
Michael wrote for The Irish Times for more than 20 years. Previously, he was film critic for the Sunday Tribune, the Sunday Press and In Dublin magazine, where he established himself as an enthusiastic advocate for cinema from around the world.
A native of Tralee, Co Kerry, Michael first publicly expressed his love of movies through his involvement in the Tralee Film Society in the early 1970s, before going on to establish and manage the Federation of Irish Film Societies, co-ordinating the distribution and exhibition of arthouse films around the country. In 2001 the Federation of Irish Film Societies changed its name to access>CINEMA.
In 1985, Michael co-founded the Dublin Film Festival, which he went on to direct and programme for many years before stepping back from its day-to-day running in the mid-1990s. When that festival ran into financial difficulties, he was instrumental in the founding and programming of its successor, the Dublin International Film Festival, in 2002. Until recently, he was also on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
In 1982 he travelled for the first time to the world’s pre-eminent film event, the Festival de Cannes, and went on to attend every festival there since then. His relationship with Cannes, along with his position as Ireland’s foremost cinema critic, was recognised in 2006, when the French government appointed him a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. He fell ill following his return from the Cannes festival last May.
Over the course of his career, he interviewed nearly all the world’s great film directors and famous movie stars. For several years in the 1990s, he presented RTÉ’s movie programme, Freeze Frame, and he continued to be a familiar voice on radio programmes including Morning Ireland and the Marian Finucane Show.
Speaking today, Jan 2nd, Pat Moylan, Chairman of the Arts Council, said of Michael:
"With the death of Michael Dwyer, the Irish film sector and cinema audiences in Ireland have lost a true friend and advocate. Driven by a personal passion for film, Michael played a key role in ensuring that audiences throughout Ireland had access to the best in non-mainstream cinema programming for over thirty years. With access CINEMA (formerly the Federation of Irish Film Societies ) and the Dublin International Film Festival, he has left a lasting legacy for film in Ireland."
The staff, board and members of access>CINEMA offer their deepest sympathies to Michael's partner Brian Jennings, his mother Mary and sisters Anne and Maria.
To read the Irish Times Obituary please click here
