Alcock and Brown 

The Irish War of Independence had commenced, although it had not reached its most dangerous phase, when two men, Alcock and Brown landed in Ireland from the skies making history in the process. What was so historic about what they achieved? Well it was a significant moment in aviation history and the British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight. They landed near Clifden, County Galway, after flying from Newfoundland and the pair were knighted by King George V the following week.

This report from 1957 show’s attempts to commemorate the event in Clifden were not advancing as people had hoped:

AER LINGUS have recently examined designs for a memorial to Alcock and Brown which will probably be erected near Clifden., In 1919 Alcock and Browne landed their converted Vickers vimy bomber in a swamp near an old Marconi station in Connemara. In later years local people marked the exact spot where the plane touched down, using a pole and a pile of stones. Since then nothing more appears to have been done at the landing site to commemorate the event. In recent years several people have suggested that a suitable memorial to the flight should be provided in Connemara. Bord Failte decided that the cost of building a road into the bog, so that tourists could motor", to the exact spot where the Vimy landed, was prohibitive, and could not be justified by the number of visitors who could be expected to use it. Recently two designs for a sculpture were submitted to Aer Lingus and it is expected that the airline will commission a work which could be erected in Clifden next year. Bord Failte is also expected to signpost a route from" Clifden' to the nearest road point to the Vimy's landing spot, and then from the roadway through the bog to the site. There is a danger of the Alcock and Brown flight being forgotten by the general public if there is no memorial, such as the very fine piece of sculpture unveiled at London Airport on the 35th anniversary of the flight.

June 15th marks the 106th anniversary of the landing in Ireland of Alcock and Brown.

For more information search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchive.com )