An Cosantóir

19 located in the NCOs Mess. The base, being of period construction, was used in a number of Hollywood WWI aerial combat movies be- tween 1965-70, including the 'Blue Max', 'Von Richtofen & Browne' and 'Darling Lili'etc. The very first time the Atlantic Ocean was conquered non-stop by air, from east to west, occurred when a Junkers type aircraft flew from Baldonnell with a crew of two Germans and the OC of the base, Major James Fitzmaurice, on 12th April 1928. A bronze plaque and a memorial stone currently mark the departure spot. The oldest building on the base is a small house known as 'The Painter's House' dating from the 1891 Congest- ed District Boards scheme, currently occupied by BFW staff who have maintained and helped develop the aerodrome's facilities over the decades. The garrison church at Casement Aerodrome, The Church of Our Lady of Loretto & St Brigid is the third on the site. The first church was a converted work shed designated for the Protestant servicemen of the RFC/ RAF 1917-1922, the second was a similar construction (located on the roundabout near the current church) for the Catholic soldiers of the early Irish Air Service. The third and current church was consecrated by Arch- bishop McQuaid in 1943, during the second phase of building activity 1938-1945 and is of great architectural importance. It is a fully concrete mould design, the interior fabric of which reflects the aviation theme. This later phase of construction included the buildings on the main square and others around the base. The first jet trainer aircraft, the DH Vampires, were wel- comed into Air Corps service after the construction of the concrete runways in 1956 and the current Air Traffic Control Tower, which later saw the departure of the first Irish troops to serve with the United Nations in the Con- go in 1960. The first enlisted Air Corps service member to serve overseas with the United Nations in the Congo, as an official photographer to the mission, chronicled much of what occurred in those years. The Air Corps were instrumental in many political and State occasions such as the Papal visit to Ireland in 1979. Many historical events occurred at Baldonnell and the Air Corps welcomed a great number of political, aviation and celebrity figures. During the 1960s 'Show Band' era the Air Corps produced a small number of talented groups the most famous of which was the Air Chords, who entertained the masses on the base and around the country. Officers Commanding Irish Air Corps During the first one hundred years of its existence the Air Corps was commanded by twenty two Officers with the ranks of Colonels (8), Commandant (1), Major (1) and Generals (11). A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IRISH AIR CORPS 1922-2022 They were: • Major General W. J. McSweeney 1922-1924 • Major T. J. Moloney 1924-1925 (Killed in Aeroplane crash) • Colonel C. F. Russell 1925-1927 (Later Director of Railway Protection Corps) • Colonel J. C. Fitzmaurice 1927-1929 (Bremen) • Commandant G .J. Carroll 1929-1931 • Major J. J. Liston (Infantry) 1931-1935 • Colonel P. A. Mulcahy (Artillery) 1935-1943 • Colonel W. P. Delamere 1943-1946 • Colonel P. Quinn 1946-1960 • Colonel W. K. Keane 1960-1966 • Colonel K. T. Curran 1966-1969 • Colonel P. J. Swan 1969-1974 • Brigadier General J. B. O' Connor 1974-1980 (First GOC since 1924) • Brigadier General W. J. Glenn 1980-1983 • Brigadier General J. M. Connolly 1983-1984 (Grandson of 1916 Leader) • Brigadier General B. L. McMahon 1984-1989 • Brigadier General P. A. Cranfield 1989-2001 • Brigadier General J. A. O' Brien 2001-2002 • Brigadier General R. James 2002-2010 • Brigadier General W.P. Fry Acting GOC 2010-2011, 2011-2017 • Brigadier General S. Clancy 2017-2019 (Current Chief of Staff) • Brigadier General R. O' Connor 2019 – Memory I feel that I have been walking in the footsteps of the generations that have come before me. Much of the built landscape about us and the service has been here for over a century. I have explored the history and dramas for over thirty-two years and educated others on its fascinating threads in time and significance to our country as best I could over last twenty of those years, a fifth of its existence. These buildings and these aircraft and facilities would be nothing but inanimate objects without the human stories attached to them. We, in our time now, should remember the words of Col- onel J.M. Connolly. Much of the history of the Air Corps is displayed in the museum collection at Casement Aerodrome and many of the experiences and memories have been collected through the Military Archives of Ireland Oral History Programme. For further in-depth knowledge read Military Aviation in Ireland 1921-45 by M.C. O'Malley. This article is written in memory of Jarlath Conerney, Tony Kearns, Tony Roe, Michael Egan, Michael Reddy, Eamon Tierney, Patrick 'Doc' Behan, P.J. McCaffery and John Mahon who were mentors to me as part of the larger Irish Air Corps museum team. They kept the history alive.

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