Museum Reopens March 15th, 2019
*Off Season Group Bookings available by advance booking only*
O'Regan's Restaurant Off Season Opening Hours
Tuesday to Friday, 9.30am to 4.00pm
Email: info@flyingboatmuseum.com - Tel: 00353 69 65416
Travel back to the 1930s and ’40s, when Foynes played a pivotal role in establishing commercial transatlantic passenger flights. Learn the history of Flying Boats and the diverse range of people who arrived and departed from Foynes through our comprehensive collection of historical and interactive exhibits and memorabilia. We’ve brought these stories to life for our visitors since 1989, right here in the original Foynes Airport Terminal Building.
The main exhibitions at the Foynes Flying Boat Museum
B314 Replica
Board the only B314 flying boat replica in the world. All the commercial flying boats landing in Foynes featured upscale amenities, but the B314 had true ocean liner luxury. Some westbound flights took 17 hours to reach Botwood before refuelling and departing for New York. This amazing Flying Boat had a 14-seat dining room, honeymoon suite, spacious flight deck catering for up to seven crew members, deck quarters for the crew, and sleeping berths for all passengers on transatlantic flights. A one-way ticket from New York to Foynes at the time cost $375.
Airlines
This exhibit includes many gems of the museum's aviation collection, showcasing how Foynes was at one time the epicenter of commercial aviation. Pan American Airways, British Overseas Airways Corporation, and American Export Airlines were the three main commercial airlines flying into Foynes. The artifacts on display depict the story of the courageous crews who navigated the monstrous flying boats across the Atlantic, as well as the ground workers who lived in Foynes.
1940s Cinema
Travel back in time in our authentic 1940s-era cinema. Here you can watch our award-winning film “Atlantic Conquest,” compiled from original footage.
Radio and Weather Room
Two of the main services operating in the original terminal were radio and meteorological operations. This room contains original radio equipment used during the flying boat period, including transmitters, receivers, typewriters, and Morse code equipment. Every hour of the day, radio officers and meteorologists searched the Atlantic for weather news by picking up ship messages and making contact with other radio and weather stations to forecast conditions for flying boat captains.
Maureen O’Hara
Explore the life and legacy of legendary Irish-American actress Maureen O'Hara. The exhibit is dedicated to this Hollywood icon, who starred in several classic films from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Her husband, famed aviator Charles Blair, flew flying boats into Foynes from 1942 to 1945. Maureen officially opened our museum on 8th July 1989, remaining its Patron until her death in 2015. View her Oscar and other awards, costumes, red carpet outfits, accessories, correspondence with celebrities and world leaders, passports, and other personal possessions and memorabilia.
First Flights
Meet pioneers of aviation, like John Alcock, Arthur Brown, and Charles Lindbergh, and get acquainted with early experiments in transatlantic flight. We also display Captain Charles F. Blair’s personal aviation collection. In 1940, he was named Chief Pilot of the newly formed American Export Airlines, later known as American Overseas Airlines. Blair was the husband of former museum patron Maureen O Hara. On September 2, 1978, tragedy struck; Captain Blair was piloting a Grumman Goose from St. Croix to St. Thomas when his plane developed engine trouble and crashed, killing him instantly.
Flight Simulators
Challenge yourself to fly the B314 in our realistic flight simulators. They provide an illuminating experience of what it was like to pilot a flying boat. Safe flight!
The War Years
Most flying boat activity took place during the World War II. This section presents touch screen and text panel accounts of life in Foynes at the time and Ireland’s role in the war as a neutral country. Travel was restricted to passengers with a special reason to be here, such as Allied military staff, politicians, royalty, celebrities, and refugees fleeing war-torn Europe through Lisbon and Foynes.
Irish Coffee Centre
Enter our 3D holographic show recreating the night in 1943 when Chef Joe Sheridan invented Irish coffee in Foynes for weary passengers returning to the airport restaurant after bad weather forced their New York-bound flight to turn back. Learn about the chef and how Irish coffee reached a worldwide audience. Complete the experience with an authentic Irish coffee for yourself.
