Sky-high festival fun for Irish town of Foynes

The town of Foynes is set to stage one of Ireland’s most spectacular air shows in July, when a historic moment in the County Limerick port’s contribution to global aviation will be celebrated.

The air show will commemorate the moment 75 years ago that the Pan American Airways ‘Yankee Clipper’ Boeing 314 flying-boat made history with the first commercial transatlantic crossing, which touched down in Foynes.

The three-hour air show on Sunday 6 July will feature over 20 leading aerobatic experts in a range of aircraft from Ireland, the UK and Europe.

Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny will be present and will unveil a plaque to all who used the Foynes Air Base.

Thousands of people are expected to swoop down on the small town for the air show, which is part of a weekend festival celebrating the pioneering airmen who made the inaugural flight.

The festival will include a daredevil display at dusk on Saturday 5 July by the UK-based Breitling Wing Walkers, as well as a Sky Pyro Show and a fireworks display over the river and harbour.

Foynes is also home to Ireland’s only flying-boat museum. Housed within the original terminal building of Foynes Airport, which operated from 1939–1945, it celebrates the part that Ireland played during the 1930s and ‘40s when it was central to transatlantic seaplane flights.

Flying Boat Museum Director Margaret O’Shaughnessy says: “Foynes and Shannon Airport are the home of Irish aviation. For the first time in 70 years, the control tower at Foynes will be active again.

“We have kept our aviation history alive with the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, which is also celebrating its 25th birthday on the same weekend.”

In its heyday Foynes hosted many stars, politicians and dignitaries, among them Charles Lindberg, John F Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bob Hope and Ernest Hemingway.

A return ticket for the transatlantic flight would have cost the equivalent of over €8,000 in today’s money, making this pioneering form of transport the preserve of the elite and very wealthy.

Foynes is only a short drive from Limerick City, which is Ireland’s National City of Culture 2014.

Throughout the year, the city is presenting a major programme of events encompassing over 200 performances of cultural expression including visual art, music, street events, food, fashion, craft and architecture.