At 12.35 on 16th June 1942 an RAF Lockheed Hudson light bomber, with a crew of three international volunteers from Atlantic Ferry Command and one additional (Irish?) mystery-man, made a classic, successful, emergency landing (“Forced landing- No Petrol” as the Royal Canadian Air Force, Radio Operator’s Log book shows) on Killyhoey beach, having been one of the lucky ones to safely cross the perilous 2115-mile expanse of wild Atlantic ocean between Gander, Newfoundland and here.
By 16th June , we plan to erect a monument to acknowledge the bravery of the crew; the compassion of the Irish Defence Forces and Irish government who, despite the International Rules of Neutrality and the Regulations of the 1939 Emergency Powers Act, ignored ‘the letter of the law’ so as to help those in need and also, to acknowledge the spirit of generosity and hospitality of local people.
The monument, beside Killyhoey beach, will be unveiled by Ramona Dzinkowski, daughter of one of the crew (RCAF Sergeant, Karl Dzinkowski, BEM), coming especially from Canada to unveil the monument, in the presence of local school children and their relatives who were there in 1942. She will be fulfilling her childhood dream “to one day walk that beach her father landed on in 1942” and she will be introduced by the children to witnesses of the unique, WW2 incident.
Brendan Rohan joins Shaun in studio to discuss.
Please wear your own medals (or those of a loved one, over right breast).
- Wed, 25 Dec 2024
- (+353) 07491 25000
- (+353) 086 60 25000