PAYING A VISIT Izolda Brickovskiene, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania (holding a remnant of the Lithuanian Plane), pictured in Ballinrobe Library with from left: Patsy Murphy, John Moran and Patsy Murphy. Pic: Michael Donnelly
Ambassador in Ballinrobe
Rob Murphy
LITHUANIAN ambassador Izolda Brickovskiene visited the south Mayo town of Ballinrobe on Tuesday evening where moves are afoot to commemorate an aviation hero from the Baltic state whose trans-Atlantic journey ended just outside the town in September 1935.
Felix Waitkus was an American-born Lithuanian who was attempting to break the distance record on a solo flight by flying from New York to Lithuania. Inclement weather, however, hampered his progress, forcing him to rely solely on directional radio for navigation with pre-arranged broadcasts from Athlone radio station proving crucial.
The plane crash-landed in a field in Cloongowla about a mile north of the town on a clear Sunday morning in September. Waitkus emerged from the wreck unscathed and was greeted by inquisitive locals, who were initially unaware they had witnessed the landing of what was just the sixth trans-Atlantic solo flight of the time.
In the past year old photographs from that Sunday morning re-awakened an interest in the event for a group of people from the town and the Lithuanian embassy then took a keen interest in the story, leading to the Ambassador’s visit to the town this week.
“I never expected that everyone in this small town would have some knowledge of this event,“ the Ambassador said at a reception in the town library. “I never expected that the Irish people for so long kept it in their memories and that they were telling stories to children and grand children. I was moved in a very positive way.
“A couple of weeks ago, President Mary McAleese visited Lithuania and said that the priority of her presidency is building bridges between the people and countries. One of the biggest bridges now is between Lithuania and Ireland and I think a very important link has been built between our country and Ballinrobe from heart to heart today.”
The ambassador visited the site of the crash and also paid a visit to one of the oldest surviving witnesses of the crash, Willie Hughes, who is 98, before speaking at the official reception where she expressed her wish to see the journey commemorated in the town.
“Our countries have very much in common, not just in size and population but in the mentality of the people, in our history, in our way of thinking and our common future in EU. So I think a monument here in Ballinrobe, for this very brave Lithuanian man who has survived here in the memory of Irish people is very important.”
The three councillors from the area, Damian Ryan, Patsy O’Brien and Harry Walsh spoke at the official reception, welcoming the ambassador and stressing the value of the Lithuanian community in the south Mayo area.
Monsignor Tom Shannon spoke of the need to commemorate Waitkus‘ feat with a significant monument that would act as a symbol of the unity between Ireland and Lithuania.
The event organiser and one of the driving forces behind the research into the crash, Patsy Murphy, also spoke on the evening, charting some of the progress made on investigations into the incident over the past year.
If you have stories or pieces of relevant information pertaining to the 1935 crash landing of Lituanica 2 in Cloongowla please contact Patsy Murphy at murphypatsy@gmail.com or phone 086 2117300.
