My dad,( Noel Purcell)met the chap who blew up 'The Pillar'. He was a Frenchman brought in especially, as the IRA lads of the day weren't trained well enough to safely topple the Pillar with such precision down the middle of O'Connell St. and minimising damage to the Dublin Shops. The reason more damage was done by the Army was that the upper parts of the Pillar were brick, but the base was huge blocks of granite. The Mary Street Cinema was owned, I believe by a Mr Baum, who also owned the Adelphia Cinema in Abbey St. Hope this is of interest.