A very merry Christmas as aircraft finally began to land at Dublin and families were reunited, writes CIAN NIHILLat Dublin Airport
HUGS, KISSES, tears, carol singing and one marriage proposal were all part of a very merry start to Christmas for thousands of people yesterday in Dublin airport’s arrivals hall.
Gina Coyle from Stillorgan got her present a little early when she met boyfriend Emmanuel Bique, who had flown through the night from the Dominican Republic to be with her over the holidays.
After a quick hug and a kiss, Bique dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him, saying that “he wanted the whole world to know how much he loved her”.
The couple had not seen each other for more than three months and the realisation that they would be spending their first Christmas in Ireland together had left Coyle teary-eyed even before she knew of any proposal plans.
They were not the only ones who had a reason to be thankful as countless passengers were welcomed home by loved ones while St Brendan’s Church children’s choir from Coolock kept everyone in a festive spirit with Christmas carols.
The snow that fell periodically throughout the day lent a picture-postcard dimension to the jolly mood in the arrivals area. Yet the same snow was causing the suspension of flights, adding to the annoyance of passengers waiting to take off.
Back on the arrivals floor, Patricia Connerton from Cavan met her granddaughter for the first time when she collected Anne Marie (9). “She’s beautiful,” beamed Connerton, adding that she was “absolutely delighted” to have her and Ann Marie’s father Peter Connerton home. The pair had travelled for 53 hours, coming from Dubai via Copenhagen and said they were ready to settle down and finally start enjoying Christmas.
There were similar scenes of joy mixed with relief when Derek Waters and his family from Harold’s Cross in Dublin were reunited.
Waters lifted up his three kids, Cuan (6), Anna (10) and Isabel (12) with one sweeping hug and kissed his wife Aisling. He had travelled for 23 hours, all the way from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia where he was working.
“I was a little bit anxious,” said an emotional Waters in the arrivals hall. “I just kept on checking the airport’s Twitter feed. I really was very lucky, I was only delayed four hours.”
It wasn’t such a smooth journey for everyone. John Galvin from Dundalk had emigrated to Sydney two years ago and was en route home when his flight got diverted to Shannon.
It left his parents PJ and Teresa, who had come to collect him in Dublin, slightly deflated – realising that their reunion would have to wait a little longer. “Well, we didn’t see him much when he came home last year either. From I picked him up at the airport he was off catching up with everyone,” joked his dad, who was glad just to know his son was at least on his way.
“All his friends had gone to Australia. He works as an engineer and most of his college friends are over there,” said PJ.
By coincidence Galvin’s cousin Rachel McKenna, who had also emigrated down under, was on the same flight home. “At least they’ll be having good craic with the two of them in it,” said his mother.
In total, the DAA estimated that just over 30,000 people would arrive into Dublin airport yesterday on what is their busiest day of the Christmas period.
For Yvonne O’Rourke, who lives in Dublin, yesterday marked the beginning of what would be the first Christmas in 60 years she would get to spend with her sister. “The last time we were together for Christmas would have been when we were children. I can’t even really remember it,” she says.