Cork GAA referee's relief after 52-hour trip home from Middle East

Shane Scanlon among 194 passengers on Irish Government’s first chartered evacuation flight from the region — travelling from Oman via Cairo — which touched down in Dublin Airport shortly before 5am on Sunday.

From left: Shane Scanlon, Newcestown; Irish ambassador to UAE Alison Milton; James McGrath, Westmeath, and Ciarán Flynn,Meath, before departing the UAE to Oman for the Irish Government charter flight to Dublin Airport.

After 52 hours of travel, Cork GAA referee Shane Scanlon says he is relieved to be back on home soil, having been stranded in Dubai for almost a week due to air strikes across the Middle East.

He was one of 194 passengers on the Irish Government’s first chartered evacuation flight from the region — travelling from Oman via Cairo — which touched down in Dublin Airport shortly before 5am on Sunday.