Kevin OCeallaigh

Former military pilot, now chiefly air accidents. Opinions are my own & not policy! RT isn’t agreement. Leinster ST holder.

[Leinster Rugby @leinsterrugby]

The moment we were all waiting for 🙌

[National Air and Space Museum @airandspace]

The first movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture was an aviation film.

On #TDIH in 1929, the WWI flying epic "Wings" took home the big prize. With its incredible aerial combat scenes, Wings set the standard for all aviation films that followed: https://t.co/AGlogwW0nD

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

@KillianM2 I remember this happening regularly during the ‘70s on both BBC and UTV. It didn’t always give a reason (like the clip above) but always started with “This is a police message” and always included the incident location and “for keyholders to please return to their premises”.

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

@mezcalll @TheStingisBack 😊

[BUCHANAN: Dublin Time Machine @RobLooseCannon]

Today in 1928, Captain James Fitzmaurice climbed into the cockpit of the Bremen at Baldonnel Aerodrome in south County Dublin, and took flight in the low-wing Junkers monoplane across the Atlantic.

He was joined by Captain Hermann Köhl, the primary pilot, and Baron Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld, the expedition's wealthy but physically frail financier. The magnificently named Baron had essentially bought his seat on what everyone involved knew was an extremely dangerous journey. His job during the crossing was to pass food and drink to the pilots from his compartment at the rear.

The three men were attempting something that had never been done. Nine years earlier, John Alcock and Arthur Brown had made the first non-stop transatlantic flight, leaving St John's in Newfoundland and touching down at Clifden in Connemara. What Fitzmaurice and his German companions were about to attempt was flying east to west, directly against the prevailing winds.

Fitzmaurice himself was born in Dublin in 1898 and raised in Portlaoise, where he attended a Christian Brothers school. His interest in aviation began early, kindled by a neighbouring family of motor engineers, the Aldritts, who built their own aircraft modelled on the Wright brothers' design.

At 16 he lied about his age to enlist and served in the First World War, eventually training as a pilot, though the Armistice came into effect on the very day he was due to ship to France. He later joined the Irish Air Corps and had already made one failed east-west attempt in 1927 before the Germans came looking for him.

When Köhl and von Hünefeld made their approach to the Irish government about using Baldonnel as a departure point, they extended an invitation to Fitzmaurice to join the crew. Von Hünefeld was shrewd enough to recognise that arriving in New York with an Irishman aboard would do them no harm at all.

The Bremen carried 520 gallons of petrol, enough for around 44 hours and weighed 5 tonnes. Thousands of Dubliners had made their way out to Baldonnel to watch, some of them shaking holy water at the plane and its crew as it taxied for take-off. The flags of Ireland and imperial Germany flew from the cockpit. At 5:38am, the Bremen lifted off.

For the first 20 hours conditions were reasonable enough. The aircraft cruised at around 1,500 feet and 120 miles per hour. Then storm clouds obscured the stars, the compass failed, and the three men flew blind through the North Atlantic darkness, heading north without knowing it.

When the skies finally cleared, they spotted Polaris and realised they were badly off course. They turned south-west and followed the coast of Labrador, picking out the Torngat Mountains below them. An oil leak had developed inside the cockpit and they had perhaps two hours of fuel remaining.

On 13 April, 36 hours after leaving Baldonnel, they spotted the lighthouse on Greenly Island, off the Quebec coast. Köhl brought the Bremen down onto a frozen reservoir beside the lighthouse. As the aircraft came to a stop, it broke through the ice. They we freezing and wet but otherwise unharmed.

They had crossed the Atlantic from east to west, against the wind, in a single unbroken flight. New York gave them a ticker-tape parade. President Calvin Coolidge awarded all three the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first time it had ever been given to foreign nationals.

In June 1928, Dublin granted them the Freedom of the City. The three later published an account of the flight under the title The Three Musketeers of the Air. The Bremen itself eventually found its way to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Fitzmaurice was promoted to Colonel. He spent years in America, returned to England during the war, and came home to Dublin in 1951. He died in Baggot Street Hospital in 1965 and was buried in Glasnevin. The flying school at Baldonnel now bears his name.

Buy the Dublin Time Machine a pint and support the DTM Book https://t.co/U7jtCrOTtb

[The Academy @TheAcademy]

Jessie Buckley accepting the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Agnes Shakespeare in HAMNET. #Oscars

[Murray Kinsella @Murray_Kinsella]

The Andy Farrell celebration files.

1. Jamison Gibson-Park's try.

"Go on, Jamo!"

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

So far this year Kerry has won;

A Junior All Ireland Club title,
An Inter All Ireland Club title,
A Senior All Ireland Club title,
The Young Scientist trophy,
And a Golden Globe.

And it’s only January! Can’t wait for the summer.
#gaa #GoldenGlobes #Hamnet #kerry

[The GAA @officialgaa]

What an AIB GAA Senior Club Football Final! It's a treble for 3⃣@Kerry_Official
@DingleGAA 0-23
@StBrigidsRos 1-19
Watch the highlights here📽️👉 #gaa

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

@NFLUKIRE It’s The Temu Diamond Dogs.

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

@OnDisasters Hope he got his Martin Baker tie. 😁

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

@irelandbattles From not long after they were incarcerated. It details the conditions that prisoners experienced at the time. It’s noted at the bottom as being from Rory O’Connor;

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

Interesting choice of jerseys tonight. #BarbieQuins #InvestecChampionsCup #LEIvHAR

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

Almost time in Dublin. #InvestecChampionsCup #LEIvHAR #FromTheGroundUp #Leinster

[Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957]

6 December 1988. Roy Orbison (“The Big-O”) died (aged 52). He was one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest vocalists. Rolling Stone placed him at No 13 on its list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”. His death came when his music was enjoying a renaissance.

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

Go Charlie Smyth!!!

[NFL UK & Ireland @NFLUKIRE]

Charlie Smyth gets his first career points and it's a FIFTY-SIX yard field goal!!! 🇮🇪🏈

[EASA @EASA]

#EASA has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) for the @Airbus A320 family. This may unfortunately cause disruption to flight schedules and inconvenience to passengers. As is always the case in aviation, safety is paramount. https://t.co/Kh73onP2ZO

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

@johnsbury66 @VirginMediaIE @AnnieLanney Yep. Agree. Still down according to Virgin’s website also.

[Kevin OCeallaigh @koceallaigh]

@VirginMediaIE @AnnieLanney I can confirm both Internet and TV is down in both Roselawn and Carpenterstown in Dublin 15 for the past hour or so. Router rebooted several times with no joy.

[Virgin Media News @VirginMediaNews]

Investigations are continuing into the cause of a light aircraft crash near Tramore in Co Waterford, in which one person died yesterday afternoon.

The aircraft had been travelling from Sligo to France when it turned back towards Waterford before coming down shortly after.