A major expansion of the Foynes flying boat and maritime museum, which tells the story of one of the world's first great aviation hubs on the west coast of Ireland in the 1930s and 40s, officially opens today.
The museum, which was founded in 1987 by local woman Margaret O’Shaughnessy, also houses an archive of costumes, clothing and film memorabilia belonging to legendary film star Maureen O’Hara, who had a long association with Foynes and the museum, until her death in 2015.
Her late husband Charlie Blair flew the famous flying boats into Foynes during the 1940s, and was the last pilot to fly the famous sea planes out of Foynes, before the new airport at Rynanna, or later Shannon emerged.
The museum has undergone a €5 million upgrade to include a new aviation museum, a 100-seater cinema, sea plane flight simulators, an archive research centre and library, as well as the Maureen O’Hara exhibition celebrating the late actor's achievements and connection to the estuary sea plane location.
It also includes a recreation of the famous kitchen in The Quiet Man, in which she starred with John Wayne.
The museum also houses over 750 dresses from the personal and professional collection of Ms O'Hara as well as hundreds of pairs of shoes and handbags.
Museum founder Margaret O’Shaughnessy said: "[We] have worked so hard over the past three decades to make this a world class museum, unique in so many ways telling and capturing the history and story of how Foynes became one of the great pioneering aviation locations in the early 20th century, between 1937 and 1945, when the waters of the Shannon estuary launched Ireland’s first commercial transatlantic services.
"We have a top class visitor experience here now on the Shannon estuary telling the story of the great sea planes which landed here for so many years.
"We are also preserving the history of that period by displaying the old photographs and memorabilia on our walls, telling of the famous figures who travelled through here on those planes.
"We were also so lucky to have such a close association with Maureen O’Hara who loved Foynes so much as it held such a special place in her heart because of her husband Charlie Blair's connection to here.
"We are unique now in the world in having an special exhibition area about her career and her collection located also at the museum."
It also includes a selfie station in which visitors can take their own photos holding Maureen O’Hara's Oscar.
She received an honorary Oscar in 2014 for her huge body of work which include over 50 movies.
"It is also an important tourist product and we’re on the wild Atlantic way and we are already getting bookings from visitors anxious to see the new museum and the story it tells," she added.
Chairman of the Board of the Museum Eamonn Brennan, and former head of the Irish Aviation authority, and director general of Eurocontrol, said the museum is offering a critical archive, telling the story of the history of aviation in Ireland, in which Foynes played such a crucial role.
