Thirty years ago this Sunday
A group of Irish journalists and political correspondents are flown in Aer Lingus by the Irish government to Belfast to witness the signing of the Anglo Irish Agreement on November 15, 1985.
From top, left to right: Davin Davin-Power, Gerry Barry and Emily O’Reilly; Sean Duignan, Mike Burns and Andrew Sheppard; Michael Heney; Geraldine Kennedy, Joseph O’Malley and cabin crew; John Cooney; John Carlos, Brian Farrell and Pat Cox; Eamonn McCann.
Many had never sat in a ‘flying machine’ before.
(Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie)
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Unidentified in pic 2 is former RTE journalist Andrew Sheppard.
Thanks Doro, fixed now.
He had a weird accent
Eamonn McCann up in Smoking Class.
Smoking on the plane…those were the days.
‘Miss it meself
When that open seatbelts ding
Dinged
Was there a sweeter sound ever ta’be heard
Second last photo: I see Pete Campbell’s put on weight since his Mad Men days.
Nailed it.
Ehm. Why were they flown? Would a coach not have done as good? Seriously? Like I know back then it would have taken 4 hours in the days before the new M1 (the old M1 going west from Belfast), but still….
… and the plane is nearly empty.
You mean the photo that was taken before everyone got on?
Youre right, what a waste of funds, I demand a tribunal into the matter
Aer Lingus in those days was the government jet. CJH said dump, and they didn’t drop their trousers first. Catering for party in Abbeville? Send the trucks from the airport. Jobs/votes needed for upcoming general election? Sinecures in cargo/baggage/checkin.
Why do you think the Shannon Stop persisted? Because Fianna Fáil needed the support of Moosaji Bhamjee, independent in Clare.
Bertie guaranteed jit surviss to Kirry for Healy Rae support in the 90’s.
Walsh stood up to Fianna Fáil, lost to “the way things are done here”, and withdrew to a stronger position, knowing we have have politicians, but not statesmen.
So it goes.
That’s actually a very poignant but slightly overly-bemused, under-researched question.
Of course they couldn’t rough it up by train (ha! certainly not the Dublin – Belfast one) nor the coach.
Think about the unapproved roads and the the road blocks on the approved ones.
And the snipers in the hills above them.
That’s ex Sunday Tribune photographer John Carlos sitting behind Brian Farrell
For all the use it was and the cost of it, we have been better informed if they all
stayed at home…..it did not stop the war or save a life….it took another 10 years
until Clinton got in and laid down the law, wasn’t surprising how everyone started
talking then and the Dublin Government had to come to terms what they avoided
for over 70 odd years and are as much responsible for as the Unionists….they
let them get away with it.
The gravy plane
Ha
Spam
You da’man
1985??????!? I was thinking 1970.
I think you mean David Davin-Power, not Davin Davin-Power in the first photo. Though it does have a certain ring to it. ;-)