Ireland's Hidden Gems
by Susan ByronRSS 
Recent Posts
- Irish jewelry designer creates a contemporary Ring of Kerry
- Barron's Bakery, a family-run, Waterford staple baking the best bread in Ireland for over 125 years
- Step into a storybook garden with a fairytale castle at Lismore Castle and Gardens Arts Centre in County Waterford
- Colorado native has a eureka moment - sets up "Full Irish Whisky Tour of Ireland"
- Ireland's top ten tourist attractions in 2013 - Where to go and what to see in Ireland
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Last week was very exciting here in Ireland as we celebrated the screen legend Maureen O’Hara’s 90th birthday. Family and friends gathered at her beautiful home in Glengariff on the shores of Bantry bay to celebrate with her in true Hollywood style. Her late husband (number 3) the dashing pilot Captain Charlie Blair having chosen the location so that he could land his flying boat at the bottom of the garden, how cool was that?
It typified the glamourous movie star lifestyle and the luxury of international air travel the preserve of a very chosen few, at the time, which is celebrated in a marvellous exhibition, just a stones throw from Shannon airport, so make it the first place you see when you come to Ireland.
Foynes Flying Boat Museum captures that romantic era of trans-Atlantic passenger flights, perfectly. Pam Am’s luxury flying boat the ‘Yankee Clipper’ first landed at Foynes in 1939, the 2000 mile journey had taken 25 hours which was incredible compared to the 8-9 days it was taking by ocean liner. The excitement, craziness and prestige is captured in b&w newsreel footage in the museums 1940s styled cinema.
