Cathal Duffy, a central figure in Mayo airport success story

IRELAND WEST AIRPORT 4OTH ANNIVERSARY: Castlebar businessman was Mons. Horan's right-hand man during crisis times

CATHAL Duffy, who died in October 2009 at the age 77, was a central figure in the promotion and development of the fledgling Knock airport (also known as Connaught West Regional Airport in its early years) during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

The late Mr. Duffy, who resided at Rathbawn Road in Castlebar and ran a garage and car dealership at Spencer Park, served on the board for 21 years as one of its founder members.

For ten of them - between 1992 and 2002 - he was chairman, putting long hours and a lot of energy into the task at a time when the airport faced many financial and external challenges.

With national political and critics regularly berating that a "foggy, boggy airport" in Mayo was economic madness, Mons. James Horan needed significant government cash in 1981 if his ambitious project was not going to crash land before the first planes had taken off from the 8,000ft runway.

He needed people around him like Cathal Duffy, a member of the Fianna Fáil National Executive who not only had a brilliant business brain but was a close friend of the then Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey.

As former chairman of the airport, Liam Scollan, recalled after Cathal's death in 2009, there were many crises, mostly financial, in the early days which would often lead to the Monsignor turning to Mr. Duffy in the boardroom, saying gravely: "You had better go and see your friend, Charlie."

Mr. Duffy had the means to set up an all-important meeting between Mons. Horan and Mr. Haughey and happily did so.

Needless to say, they got on very well with Mr. Haughey’s government giving £10 million towards the building of the facility.

When the money later ran out and funding stalled following a change of government and much anti-Knock Airport hysterious during recessionary times, the £4 million raised by Mons. Horan’s in a worldwide ‘Jumbo Quiz’ lottery completed the project and ensured it officially opened on May 30, 1986, the first flight having taken place on October 25, 1985, when an Aer Lingus Boeing Jet brought pilgrims to Rome for a week.

Three months after the official opening, the airport was hit by a proverbial bombshell.

The death on August 1, 1986, of Mons. Horan, while on pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, represented a major setback and was destined to place immense pressure on the other board of directors to ensure that the facility continued to successfully battle against adversity, as Mons. Horan had.

It was then that men of the calibre of Cathal Duffy, who himself had run a company named Ireland West Airways which operated flights between Castlebar and Dublin for many years, Jim Ryan, Seamus Monaghan, Michael O’Malley, Peter Casey, John Dillon, Sean Noone, Sean McEniff, Mons, Dominic Greally, Joe Kennedy, Arthur French, Liam Scollan, Des Mahon, Peter Hynes, Archbishop Dr. Michael Neary, Joe Gilmore and others, to fill the void and bring the airport to the next phase of its development.

It is true the airport ran on a shoestring for many years with staff having to be very versatile in their duties, from baggage handling to security to manning the desks.

The level of goodwill towards the airport was always going to be a big positive, however.

In fact, all the steel works for the first extension for the airport buildings were donated as a type of siege mentality had evolved between the west of Ireland and central government over the facility's future.

A major coup was Ryanair coming on board, so to speak, and its inaugural flight, which marked the first direct transport link between the west of Ireland and London, took place from Knock Airport on December 16, 1986.

And since then Ryanair has maintained a longstanding partnership with the Mayo facility, carrying over 12 million passengers over the past four decades.

There have been many ups and downs along the way.

But nobody today can dispute that the vision, commitment and courage of Mons. Horan and his founding members have not been rewarded in spades as it stands as a focal point for the renewal of the regional in social and economic terms.

The Duffy family is very proud of the role played in the Knock Airport story by Cathal Duffy.

His son, Iarla, and grandson, Charles, are delighted to be associated with the 40th anniversary celebrations as they look forward to the airport’s continued growth and expansion.

* Ireland West Airport Knock celebrates its 40th anniversary tomorrow evening.