A second exhibition of what is claimed to be the world's largest private diecast model aircraft collection has been unveiled at Shannon Airport.
In 2018, Mike Kelly from Limerick city donated 1,500 diecast model aircraft to the airport from his private collection. They had been part of an aviation exhibition for passengers in the departures lounge.
This week a second exhibition was unveiled in the main terminal building featuring a further 900 model aircraft donated by Mr Kelly.
The 72-year-old said that since he was a boy he was fascinated with airplanes and spent many days watching planes come and go at Shannon Airport.
He estimates that he now has models representing over 90% of the world's airlines and carriers and also military and rescue jets.
Among those is a diecast model of the famous Antonov 225 cargo plane - built by the Kyiv-based Antonov company in the eighties.
The plane, which was widely used for humanitarian missions, was destroyed during fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops at Hostomel Airport in Ukraine in February 2022.
Mary Considine, CEO of the Shannon Airport Group, said that the former pilot of the Antonov had visited Shannon to see the model.
"This underlines the uniqueness of this exhibition as there is no collection like this in any other airport in the world", Ms Considine said.
"This exhibition is a fascinating journey through the evolution of aviation, dating back to the 1930s, and showcases an array of aircraft from every corner of the world."
The exhibition includes a full collection of Concordes as well as a complete fleet of VC10s and the legendary Sunderland once owned by Al Capone.
It also includes a full collection of Ryanair and Aer Lingus diecast aircraft.
Mr Kelly estimates that he has spent over €500,000 on the collection over the years.
When asked how much it is worth now - he said a collector from New York had recently been in contact with him and said that it could be worth up to €4m.
