Clare FM’s Morning Focus broadcast live from Shannon Airport today to mark 80 years since the first passenger plane touched down there, at what was then Rineanna Airfield.
Since then, the Airport has become the economic engine of the MidWest region, and it has developed an international reputation for its pioneering spirit.
This morning, Gavin marked that in a conversation with the current Operations Director of Shannon Airport, Niall Moloney, whose father worked in the Airport before him.
The piece began with an excerpt from ‘From Foynes to Shannon’, a major 8-part documentary series aired by Clare FM in 2001, to mark 65 years of flight from the Shannon region.
It was presented by Valerie Sweeney and engineered by Tracey Moloney and heard from many of the main figures who helped build this place during its first decades of operation. In this excerpt, we’ll ear one of those, Martin Herlihy, explain how Rineanna Airfield, now Shannon Airport came to be.
