Knock airport dream lives - 20 years on
Austin Garavin
The twentieth anniversary of the official opening of Ireland West
Airport Knock was marked by a special celebration attended by Finance
Minister Brian Cowen TD, and hundreds of guests, on Tuesday last. The
Minister arrived at the airport on board an Aer Arann flight from
Dublin in beautiful summer sunshine, which was in stark contrast to the
official opening 20 years ago when the heavens opened and rivers of
water flowed down the hill from Barr na Cruaige.A beautifully-presented
history of the airport was displayed on the wall in the main terminal
building, depicting the development of the airport from a dream in 1980
to a successful and thriving reality in 2006.Among the attendance of
over 400 were former airport board and staff members, representatives
of Knock Shrine and others who helped raise funds to build the airport.
Many distinguished politicians, both past and present, arrived to join
in the celebrations. They included the former EU Commissioner Padraig
Flynn as well as former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, both of whom were
present with Monsignor Horan at the sod-turning ceremony in 1981.Former
Taoiseach Charles Haughey was unable to attend, but he telephoned
personally to send his heartfelt congratulations to all who contributed
to the success of the airport.
In his welcoming address, Chairman of Ireland West Airport Knock, Joe
Kennedy said: “The airport is very proud of its heritage and past and
is continuing to implement what were the original aims of the late
Monsignor James Horan and the founding members of the airport. In
reality it is not an airport or building we are here to celebrate.
Instead we are gathered together to celebrate and recognise the
contribution made by the numerous organisations and the ordinary men
and women who made the dream of Ireland West Airport Knock a reality
through their faith, determination perseverance, belief and pioneering
spirit.”
Parish Priest of Knock, Monsignor Joe Quinn, who was recently appointed
to the airport board, paid tribute to his predecessors, Msgr Horan and
Msgr Grealy for their vision and foresight in guiding the airport to
the success that it is today. He announced that some 20 Marian Shrines
of Europe will hold their annual meeting in Knock in early October and
it would be a matter of great satisfaction to his predecessors to see
written in the official communiqué a message advising delegates to
assemble in Dublin for a flight to Ireland West Airport Knock to
transfer to Knock Shrine. He also said that Knock Shrine looked
forward to working closely with the board on future joint initiatives.
Chief Stewart at Knock, Tom Neary, outlined the various fundraising
efforts that took place over a number of years to raise the money
necessary to complete the airport. He said that in the years ahead
people from all nations of the world would pass through the airport to
visit and pray at Knock Shrine.
Paul Fitzsimons of Ryanair stated that Ireland West Airport Knock
started out in 1986 at around the same time as Ryanair. He said that
both had confounded their critics. He looked forward to the expansion
of routes between the airport and overseas destinations in the years
ahead. Mr Fitzsimons also announced that as a special birthday present
Ryanair were putting 20,000 tickets on sale at 20 cent each for all
their UK routes from the airport.
Liam Scollan, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport Knock, said that
20 years after the airport was first opened, it is supporting tourism,
jobs and inward investment. In a reference to future development at the
airport, Mr Scollan said: “When we say that this year the airport will
contribute 78 million in tourism spend and we will build a business
park creating at least 2,000 jobs within the next ten years, we are
simply continuing in the spirit of the original vision.”
Brian Cowen, T D, Minister for Finance, stated: “This is a successful
and growing airport which is a vital piece of regional infrastructure.
But it represents much more than that. It was an act of faith in the
future of the west that illuminated the way forward. It continues to be
a reminder to us of what we have overcome and the work that must go on
until all communities of the west see real and sustained progress.”
Referring to the new Capital Grants Scheme for regional airports, with
a budget of €100 million, being prepared by Government, Minister Cowen
said: “I am hopeful that EU Commission approval will be given to this
revised scheme during the course of this year.”
Pictured
at last week’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of Ireland West
Airport Knock former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds with a photograph of
himself turning the first sod.