LAST UPDATE | 25 Nov 2025

A BILL TO rename Dublin Airport the “Seán Lemass Dublin International Airport” has moved to the second stage after it was introduced in the Dáil today by a Fianna Fáil TD.

Lemass acted as both Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil between 1959 and 1966 and was succeeded on both counts by Jack Lynch.

While Lemass decided to step down as Taoiseach and party leader, he remained a backbench TD until 1969 and died two years later in 1971.

This afternoon in the Dáil, Malcolm Byrne introduced a bill to rename Dublin Airport after Lemass.

Though not included in the bill, the TD also suggested naming a metro line on Dublin’s promised Metrolink after Irish footballer Troy Parrot, whose dramatic hat trick in Budapest last week sent Ireland to the World Cup play-offs.

The bill faced no objections and progressed to the second stage, where TDs of all sides are able to contribute and generally discuss whether the idea is a good or a bad thing and eventually vote on it.

Speaking in the Dáil today, Byrne said: “This is not simply a question of changing a sign; it is about recognising a leader whose vision transformed Ireland and whose policies opened the gateway through which millions now pass.”

The TD described Lemass as the “architect of modern Ireland”.

“He charted a new course, one of openness, ambition and progress, and he understood that isolation was not an option for a small nation,” he said.

Byrne praised Lemass’ encouragement of free trade, foreign investment and the progress he made towards Ireland’s membership of the European Economic Community.

“These decisions laid the foundations for the Ireland we know today: outward looking, dynamic and globally connected. Lemass saw aviation as a lifeline for Ireland, a bridge to a wider world. He understood that connectivity was key, not just for tourism but also for trade, diplomacy and Ireland’s place in global affairs,” he added.

The TD said it is common practice across the world to name airports after leaders, giving examples of Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and John F Kennedy airport in New York.

He said: “Every time a traveller lands at Seán Lemass Dublin international airport, they will be reminded of a leader who believed that Ireland could take our place among the nations of the world and, more importantly, he made it happen.”

As the Seán Lemass Dublin International Airport Bill has progressed to the second stage in the Dáil, we want to know, would you support this name change?