Christmas at Cork Airport: 'I check their body weight coming in and make sure I feed them up'
Comiing home for Christmas at Cork Aiport was Bronagh Conroy who was greeted by her mother Pauline from Skibbereen. Picture: Dan Linehan
“At last, we have her home,” Pauline Conroy said as she tearfully hugged her daughter Bronagh when she walked into the arrivals hall at Cork Airport.
Bronagh was returning home for Christmas from Amsterdam where she moved to study for a master's degree (MA) and is now working.
“This Christmas we’ll have her for two weeks. We’ll have a full house for once. We’ll be eating, chilling, drinking," Pauline said.
“I have to check their body weight coming in and make sure I feed them up. Once a mammy always a mammy!”
“The fridge will be empty,” Bronagh said with a smile.
More tearful hugs greeted Lauren O'Callaghan Hedman as she returned for her first Christmas in five years from Australia.
“There’s nothing like an Irish Christmas. BBQs on the beach sound amazing but after a while, they lose their shine and you just want a cold Christmas,” Lauren said.
“I’m very happy to be home. I'm looking forward to seeing my family, and my grandparents in West Cork.”
Little Bonnie Findlay was waiting in her mum Saoirse’s arms for her grandad to come home from London. She said that seeing her grandad was the best part of Christmas, and more exciting than Santa.
TV presenter Angela Scanlon walked into the arrivals hall wearing a baseball hat over her famous red hair and a dark shearling jacket with her Cork-born husband Roy Horgan and their children.
David Quinn was greeted by mum Catherine Quinn, as he arrived home from Holland and into Cork Airport.
"I'm just back from the Netherlands, I came back to see Mum and the entire family and I have a wedding tomorrow.
"I'm most looking forward to seeing my mother and to Christmas dinner and the wedding!"
Lorraine Gavigan was waiting for her parents, Eric and Geraldine, to arrive back from their home outside Alicante.
“We take turns having Christmas in Ireland and Spain," she said.
Geraldine Gavigan said she was happy to be “back with our beautiful daughter”.
“Spain is lovely but it’s not the same. You have to have cold weather, you have to have Guinness and you have to have ham and Irish potatoes!”
Twins Katie and Fiona were pushed on a trolley of luggage through the arrivals hall by parents Michael and Kim for their second Christmas in Ireland.
“I’m looking forward to being with family,” Michael said.
His partner Kim, who is Dutch, said that the Christmas atmosphere in Ireland is bigger and more infectious than in Holland.
Aoife Judge was returning from London and was collected at the airport by her friend.
“I love London but I’m happy to be home,” she said.
“It’s so nice coming through border control in Cork and hearing ‘well, how are you? Happy Christmas.”
Kate Sodagar and her husband Paul brought their baby Dara home for his first visit to Ireland from their home in London and his first Christmas in Ireland.
“He’s the first grandchild in the family so everyone wants to see him."
Jodie Sullivan, a marketing student at Munster Technological University, was returning home from Erasmus in Murcia, Spain.
“I love it there. The language barrier was quite hard initially as it’s not a touristy town but it throws you in the deep end.
“Now, I’m looking forward to seeing family and friends over Christmas."
Ciara Cronin flew home for Christmas from Alicante where she teaches English.
Her brother Seán, was flying home from Saudi Arabia and they were renting a car to drive home to West Cork together.
“I’ve been in Alicante for six years but living there still feels like a holiday," she said.
“But I love being home for Christmas, to see family, for the craic and the food.”
Seán Cronin’s bag had been mislaid between flight connections in Heathrow but he said he was still looking forward to relaxing and having a few drinks with friends now that he was home.
“I’ve been in Saudi for six years and I’ve seen a vast change in the country. It was very conservative but now it’s more tourism-orientated,” he said.
The arrivals hall was serenaded by a choir of fourth, fifth and sixth-class pupils from Scoil Bhríde in Midleton.
The children had taken time from their lunch break to sing at the airport and fundraise for the Midleton Flood Relief fund.
“We still have families badly affected by the [recent] flooding in Midleton,” teacher Sinead Barry said.
“So the pupils came on their lunch break to fundraise. And it’s been such a lovely experience seeing families coming home and reuniting. The girls have really enjoyed it.”
Dylan Skurnik, age 11, was back from Sydney for Christmas.
“It’s my seventh Christmas in Ireland. It’s nice being with family. This place is more festive than Sydney, and there’s always a chance of snow," he said.
His mum Vicky has been living in Sydney for 20 years.
“I love being back. When you grew up with a cold Christmas then it’s never the same when it’s warm for the holiday,” she said.
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