Alcock and Brown Centre to mark centenary of aviation milestone

With the centenary of the Alcock and Brown landing near Clifden just two years away, a number of British businessmen are floating a plan to develop a major centre to mark that historic milestone in aviation history.

The compass for the ambitious proposal is now fixed on the airstrip site near Cleggan village, about seven miles north of Clifden town; this is one of the two airstrips that were developed almost a decade ago at a cost of over €9m to provide a service between Inishbofin Island and the mainland.

With little chance of a Government subvention for the Inishbofin service – it was ruled out by then-Minister of State, Dinny McGinley, some years ago – a call went out for submissions on the future use of the airstrips.

The UK group was among those to made a submission to the Department of Arts, Culture, Regional and Gaeltacht Affairs.  They see the airstrip and the adjoining lands near Cleggan as a possible site for an Alcock and Brown Centre.

The businessmen with the idea of a centre commemorating the pioneering flight by Alcock and Brown visited the airstrip near Cleggan last week.

They also met members of the Clifden and West Connemara Airport Board – the group that originally championed the campaign for air services to west Connemara and Inishbofin.

The proposal has also been discussed with Gaeltacht and Natural Resources Minister, Seán Kyne, and with community groups and business people in Clifden.

While no concrete plans are in place, the general idea is that a centre – probably containing a replica of the Alcock and Brown plane from 1919 – would be developed with a €20m investment being mooted.

Initial figures suggest it could attract a half million visitors per year; its proximity to Kylemore Abbey and to the Connemara National Park – both among the prime tourism destinations in the West – and the huge historic significance of the Alcock and Brown flight are put forward in support of these visitor forecasts.

The Vickers Vimy plane used by Alcock and Brown on the first flight across the Atlantic is kept in the Science Museum in London.  It is thought highly unlikely that it would be moved from there.

A replica of that plane was used by American adventurers, Steve Foster and Mark Rebholz who flew on the Alcock and Brown route from Newfoundland to Connemara in 2009.  They landed at the Golf Course in Ballyconneely.  The replica plane was said to be worth €5m.

The proposal promoters met business interests and community groups in Clifden and had discussions with incoming County Council Chairperson, Councillor Eileen Mannion.

It is understood that they had an interest in the Ball Alley site immediately to the west of Clifden town but that location is earmarked for another project.

The Clifden and West Connemara Airport company continue to own a parcel of land comprising over thirty acres beside the airstrip in the townland of Cloonlaghtanabba near Cleggan.

The team floating the Alcock and Brown Centre idea are understood to be anxious that the airstrip would become operational with the likelihood of visitors landing there and taking in the mooted adjacent Centre on their travels.

The men who have floated the project are understood to have proposed that a local group, company or concern would invest between €100,000 and €150,000 in the initial phase of the project; that would entitle them to an ongoing share of the hoped for profits on a continuing basis into the future.

There have been many suggestions over the years about bringing more visitors to west Connemara based on the historic events of June 1919 when Alcock and Brown blazed a trail that opened up vast new possibilities in the world.

A trail was established at the landing site on the Ballyconneely side of Clifden last year which encompasses the landing site and the Marconi wireless station location.  This is basically a walk through the site with information hoardings and seating along the way However, it appears very unlikely that a commemorative structure could be built there because of environmental rules.

The Cleggan site may be the next best option but there are many logistics and huge sums of money to bargain for before the Alcock and Brown project would fly.