Photo: Aer Arann scheduled flight preparing for disembarking back in the summer of 2007.
Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of a speech in the House of Commons in which an Irish M.P. made the following contribution to a spending bill :-
But if you want to utilise Ireland it is almost time that you started a large aerodrome in Galway, so that you may begin at once and knock the Americans out and give yourselves a chance of being the first to carry out the air service to New York.
It was still a year away from Alcock and Brown’s transatlantic flight but events overtook any plans to build an international airport in Galway. Today, a small airport lies idle to the east of the city (save some use by small, private aircraft). It’s best days as an airport is behind it. In the government’s latest strategic plan, it’s likely that the airport will be used for something else (it is owned by Galway City council). Already, Galway is joined by motorway to Shannon Airport, and the city may also be connected to Knock airport by motorway too, if that strategic plan is ever implemented.
The M.P. thinking about a Galway airport a century ago was William Field, representing the St. Patrick’s constituency in Dublin. His political career was also about to be overtaken by events. In the election that would take place at the end of 1918, he would be well defeated by the Sinn Fein candidate, who would also become the first woman M.P. – Constance Markievicz.