It’s almost 101 years – June 14, 1919 – since Alcock and Brown took off from Newfoundland in their modified Vickers Vimy bomber. They flew over the Atlantic before landing at the Marconi Station at Derrygimlagh. Their achievement changed the world forever.
The two heroes returned Friday March 6th in the form of a beautiful bronze statue, which will become a permanent fixture in the town.The statue is an exact replica of the original monument, located at Heathrow Airport, which was lent by Heathrow to Clifden and Connemara last year to mark the centenary of the flight.
The original was commissioned by the British government in 1953 and sculpted by William Mc Millen. Since then it has only ever left Heathrow Airport once, for a visit to Clifden in 2019 for the centenary celebrations. The replica has been crafted by Bronze Art Ireland and was unveiled on Friday, March 6th by His Excellency Robin Barnett, British Ambassador to Ireland. The unveiling was aided by Sean and Bernadine Mulryan from Ballymore who funded this project.
Clifden Community School TY students were present at the unveiling to participate in this important part of our town‘s history.