Brothers George, James and Thomas Horgan began their careers in the late 19th century in Youghal, Co. Cork as shoemakers and photographers. From 1900, following the success of their photographic studio, James Horgan began to use a motion picture camera to capture current events and their local community. In 1917 the brothers opened the purpose-built 600-seat cinema The Horgan Picture Theatre in Youghal, where they screened their newsreel style films. These are collectively referred to as the Youghal Gazette, and were screened along with contemporary international feature films.