Flight path propelled by outgoing Flynn

KNOCK AIRPORT:A £3.6 million government contract to start development at Knock airport was signed five days after the 1981 general election by the outgoing junior minister for transport Pádraig Flynn, State papers show.

This last-minute approval of money for Fianna Fáil’s controversial project came despite “deep concerns” by the minister for finance about funding the multi-million pound project and serious issues raised by a government working group report.

On June 8th, 1981, in the days before the general election, the first meeting of the airport’s development company revealed over half a million pounds had already been spent. The meeting also heard that even though contracts for earth-moving and site development had not been signed, work had been carried out on the Co Mayo site “for some time”.

Among the items that would have been discussed was the money needed by the airport development company, which had no assets.

On June 4th, airport founder Msgr James Horan phoned taoiseach Charles Haughey’s private secretary Seán Aylward because AIB was delaying a £2 million loan for development due to “the inadequacies of government guarantees”, according to a note for Mr Haughey. The loan would have covered payments until the Dáil approved the funding. Mr Aylward told him it would be discussed at the first meeting of the development company, which would include government officials.

On June 16th, “the placing of the contract was formally approved” by Mr Flynn, “five days after the general election” (but before the formation of the new Fine Gael-Labour government). The contract was for £3.6 million for a runway and the first payment was sanctioned by the new Dáil on July 9th.The project was dropped in December 1981 but restarted when Fianna Fáil returned to power in February 1982, with the first flight made in 1985.