Foynes, home of the museum, has a rich and interesting history. We came across this article by Sean Liston, Archivist, Limerick, recently published in the Irish American News:
In a new monthly article From Midwest to Midwest, we are connecting the green dots by telling you a little story about the area that your Limerick ancestors came from.
This month we start in Foynes, County Limerick. One of the many stops on the Shannon Estuary Way, a new 207km-long loop drive taking in Clare, Limerick and Kerry, Foynes is a village in County Limerick in the south west of Ireland. It is situated on the south bank of the Shannon river where the estuary begins to widen out as it approaches the Atlantic ocean.
The earliest logboat found in the estuary at Carrigdirty near Askeaton was dated from c. 5800 years ago.
St. Patrick is reputed to have visited the area in the 5th Century and to have blessed the country westwards from nearby Knockpatrick. Through the centuries, local kingdoms, invading Vikings and Normans have held sway over the local countryside.
Connecting the Green Dots in FOYNES
If your family came from this area read on because these are the things that they might have been involved in.
The Port and Railway
Foynes was surveyed in the 1830s by the Royal Navy with a view to establishing a port where deep water facilities were available. From a modest pier with railway connection to the rest of Ireland in the 1850s a thriving port has grown. Foynes was the last port of call of the Evelyn which brought uniforms from the Limerick Clothing Factory to the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
The Sawmills
Originally The Monteagle Mill, timber was purchased from Russia and Scandinavia during the 19th Century. Huge ships from these countries used Foynes port and the sawmills were a busy place to work.
Cooperative Creamery and Poultry Societies
Some of the first agricultural cooperatives in the country were set up in and around Foynes from 1889. These progressive and successful societies gave local farmers security and, although they have changed over the years, the global giants like Kerry are founded on the history of small farmers from this region.
The GAA
In 1925 Foynes captured a county Junior Football title and in 1933, Shanagolden and Foynes contested the West Junior final with Shanagolden emerging winners 1-5 to 1-4. Then in 1936, Foynes reached the county Senior Football final but were defeated 0-7 to 0-3 by Ahane who were led by the legendary Mick Mackey.
From 1939, WW2, The Emergency and economic hardships forced many to emmigrate. The decision was taken to join the local clubs under the one banner. In the spring of 1947, a public meeting was convened in Foynes and after much debate and discussion a new club came into existence and St. Senans GAA club was formed.
The Centre of the Aviation World from 1939 to 1945
A later survey overseen by aviation pioneer Captain Charles Lindberg led to the choice of Foynes Harbour with its sheltered waters as a base for the Transatlantic Flying Boat service during the Second World War. This was operated by Pan American Airlines, BOAC and American Export Airlines. Passengers often enjoyed an Irish Coffee that was created in 1943 by Chef Joe Sheridan in the Airport Terminal formally known as the Monteagle Arms Hotel.
A SELECTION OF CELEBRATED VISITORS TO FOYNES 1939–1945
In February 1944, actor and decorated naval officer, Douglas Fairbanks passed through Foynes followed by Prime Minister of Australia, John Curtin and novelist Ernest Hemingway in May. Also in 1944, Polish Prime Minister Mikolajczjk in June, Czechoslovak Minister Jan Masaryk and New Zealand Prime Minister P. Frazer transited through Foynes.
Everyone that was anyone flew through Foynes during those years including from the world of politics, John F. Kennedy, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Anthony Eden (Foreign and Dominions Secretary), Lord Keynes (Maynard) (Economist, British Treasury), A. P. Herbert (British Minister) and Lord Louis Mountbatten.
Royalty included Prince Ibn Saud (Saudi Arabia), Charlotte, Duchess of Luxembourg, Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, King George of Greece, Olaf Crown Prince of Norway and Prince Bernhard of Holland. People from the world of entertainment included actor and comedian Bob Hope, actors Merle Oberon, Gracie Fields, Bill Rogers, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart, and musician Yehudi Menuhin.
The last scheduled North Atlantic flight from Foynes to New York in October 1945 was piloted by Captain Charles Blair, husband of screen legend Maureen O’Hara who later donated her Hollywood Oscar and an extensive wardrobe to the Foynes Flying Boat Museum where they and the story of the Flying Boat era can be viewed today.
Fuel
The BP terminal was an important business in Foynes; fuelling for example the Short flying boat, Caledonia, which completed the 1,900 mile flight across the Atlantic from Foynes to Newfoundland in 1937.
Modern Foynes
Foynes is one of Irelands leading bulk ports and has received recognition from the European Union as one of the three Tier One ports of Ireland. The port has been considerably developed by the former Foynes Harbour Trustees and its successor, Shannon Foynes Port Company. Foynes is busy with cargo and cruise ship traffic and as a base for Ireland’s expanding marine energy sector.