Ireland still flying high in the aviation industry

In the pioneering days of aviation, Ireland was the point of departure and arrival for all transatlantic air traffic. And although planes no longer refuel at Shannon, we are still prominent in the industry. Ryanair is the largest short haul airline in Europe and we are major players in airport retail and aircraft leasing, says Eoghan Corry

IF one photograph represents the chaotic courage of the gladiatorial age of aviation, then it’s page 48 of Michael Kennedy’s book, Pioneers and Aviators.

Here, you will find the image (above) of two dozen Garda Síochána, frozen in silver, as they attempt to prevent Charles Ulm’s doomed Avro X monoplane, hopelessly overloaded with fuel for his transatlantic flight attempt, from subsiding into the sand at the Velvet Strand, in Portmarnock.