Shannon Airport marks 70th anniversary with photo exhibition

IRELAND. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Shannon Airport, Ireland’s most historic airport, a special photographic exhibition has been created, showing some of the famous faces who have visited the airport .

The exhibition comprises 64 images, drawn from the 1950s to the current decade, which have been assembled from archives and placed in a permanent display on the walls of the airport’s transit lounge. 

Every US President since John F Kennedy has visited Shannon Airport
Left: Princess Grace of Monaco; right: actor Richard Burton with wife Suzy Miller

Launched last night (Tuesday 1 December) by Shannon Group Chairman Rose Hynes, the exhibition reflects the international standing of Shannon as a global aviation crossroads and includes some of the world’s best known personalities of politics, stage, screen and sport. Famous faces and events captured in the creation include every US president since John F Kennedy, other global political and religious leaders such as Nelson Mandela, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Cuban President Fidel Castrol, Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama.

Photos of movie stars Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Peter O’Toole also feature as well as images of Mohammed Ali, Irish boxer Andy Lee’s homecoming last year and the 2006 homecoming of Munster following their Heineken Cup victory. The homecoming of Clare’s 1995 All-Ireland winning team, said to be the single biggest crowd event of all at the airport, is also captured in the exhibition. Rock stars included are Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen.

The display also demonstrates Shannon’s international status, including the visits this year of Prince Charles and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, both of whom flew into Shannon this year.

Shannon Group Chairman Rose Hynes said: “This is a special moment for us as these photos remind us of the legacy that has been passed onto us at Shannon. You can only imagine in the 40s, 50s and 60s in the West of Ireland the excitement that would have abounded here with Hollywood stars arriving on such a regular basis. We still have this happening today so the magic continues. Shannon is at the heart of this region and this is one of the reasons why there’s great fondness for it.”

She continued: “There are probably only a very small percentage of airports outside the US that have had every American President since John F Kennedy through its doors. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on arrival here at Shannon last year summed it up when he said ‘Shannon is a place where the relationship between Ireland and America has taken flight. Today we stand at the same transatlantic gateway that brought my parents to America and brought American presidents to Ireland.’ That says a lot about this airport.”

Muhammad Ali signs autographs for fans at the airport
Irish actor Richard Harris picks up his duty free shopping

Former airport directors Liam Skelly and Michael Guerin, who are associated with the ‘golden era’ of success at Shannon, were special guests at the launch. Also present was Anne Coyne from Oranmore, who features in the exhibition in a picture with Hollywood star Gene Kelly in the airport’s duty free – the first airport duty free shop in the world.

Former Shannon Airport Director Liam Skelly said: “So much of the success here was down to Brendan O’Regan. He was a fantastic man and incredible innovator. He started duty free here and sold everything from Rolex watches to Mercedes cars through Shannon to the world’s best known and wealthiest people. It really was a special place to work in. We were always trying to follow his lead.”

Shannon Group CEO Neil Pakey commented: “This exhibition just shows how much of a crossroads Shannon was and still is. It’s part of the fabric of the region and of the nation and has been, and continues to be, the start and finish of so many great visits and so many great events.”

Prince Charles is welcomed by Shannon airport staff
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