Launch on the bremen Clondalkin Library April 24th
Back to List17/04/2003
Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.
South Dublin County Council
Comhairle Chontae Atha Theas
The Launch of the Flight of the Bremen
After the First World War, the ambition of all aviators was to make the first crossing of the vast Atlantic Ocean by aircraft. Nowadays, flying to America is a fairly comfortable experience and pilots have an abundance of power and navigational aids upon which they can rely, but in the 1920s this was the greatest test of man and machine. The first transatlantic flights were made in the West-East direction but to make the flight from Europe to North America was far more dangerous because of prevailing winds and the greater flight time. In 1927 ten unsuccessful East-West transatlantic attempts were made and seven lives were lost. Any subsequent attempts were discouraged but for many aviators, the unsuccessful flights only intensified their intentions to try again.
The Atlantic airspace was finally conquered in April of 1928 and Ireland played a large part in the historic achievement. The Bremen took off from Baldonnel Aerodrome on Thursday 12th April 1928 at 5:38 am and landed on Greenly Island in Labrador the following day. One of the crew of three was an Irishman, Captain James C. Fitzmaurice.
In order to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Flight of the Bremen, South Dublin Libraries staff member Sile Coleman has put together an exhibition commemorating this momentous event. Based mainly on primary research undertaken in the National Library archives and in Tallaght Library’s Local History department, the exhibition is currently on display in the County Library as well as in Clondalkin Library.
The exhibition will be formally launched on Thursday 24th April by the Mayor Cllr. Jim Daly at 7.30pm in Clondalkin Library. At 8pm a talk will be given by Mr. Teddy Fennelly, author of a book on the subject of the flight of the Bremen entitled Fitz and the Famous Flight.
Issued on behalf of the Council by M Keyes Head of Corporate Services Tel 4149100