Liam Skelly, left, Michael Guerin, centre, and Niall Maloney, look at a picture of Richard Nixon at Shannon. Diarmuid Greene / Fusionshooters Diarmuid Greene / Fusionshooters / Fusionshooters

A PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION has opened at Shannon Airport which highlights all of the luminaries who have landed there.

The exhibition, which was officially launched last night is, according to the organisers, a “reflection of the international standing of Shannon as a global aviation crossroads”.

Famous faces/events captured in the exhibition include every US president from presidents John F Kennedy to Barack Obama; other global political and religious leaders such as Nelson Mandela, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Cuban President Fidel Castro, Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama.

Richard Burton is pictured here arriving in Shannon Airport with his wife Suzy Miller. Shannon Airport Shannon Airport

It also features sporting stars such as the 2006 Munster team which won the Heineken Cup and Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad Ali.

Shannon Group Chairperson Rose Hynes said that the pictures are a reminder of the glamour of Shannon in mid-20th century Ireland.

“This is a special moment for us as these photos remind us of the legacy that has been passed onto us at Shannon. You can only imagine in the 40s, 50s and 60s in the West of Ireland the excitement that would have abounded here with Hollywood stars arriving on such a regular basis.”

Grace Kelly visited Ireland three times and arrived into Shannon for her earliest visit before embarking on the long drive to Mayo to the ancestral farm of her grandfather John Peter Kelly.

Neil Pakey, CEO of the airport, said that the photos show how important Shannon still is.

“This exhibition just shows how much of a crossroads Shannon was and still is. It’s part of the fabric of the region and of the nation and has been, and continues to be, the start and finish of so many great visits and so many great events.”

JFK addresses a crowd during his visit to Ireland.

The 64 photos are on show to celebrate the airport’s 70th birthday.

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