‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan

What’s the most bizarre story in Irish history that you have ever read? How about this one, the story of the man who was dubbed ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan.

In 1988 Corrigan returned to Ireland, fifty years after his first famous visit. This time he was an invited guest of the nation. The Irish Independent reports:

THE first time he arrived he had no official papers, but when he steps off an Aer Lingus Jumbo jet (Flight 104) next Monday morning, he will be greeted as a guest of the nation.

Fifty years to the date after Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan landed a small Curtiss Robin singleengined aircraft at Baldonnel Aerdrome near Dublin, Aer Lingus has invited him to come back as their guest and re-live some of the sights and excitement of that famous crossing. With him from New York on the flight will be David Kennedy, Chief Executive of Aer Lingus.

During his visit he will meet the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr. Ben Briscoe, T.D., and Minister John Wilson who is standing in for the Taoiseach, who is in Australia.

At the time he landed in 1938 the 31-year-old Corrigan said he had taken off from Floyd Bennett field in New York intending to fly to California. Twenty seven and a half hours later he landed at Baldonnel. He would later claim that he misread his compass and instead of going West he flew East. Most aviation officials of the day accepted the story as a joke. But "Wrong Way" Corrigan has never changed his version. Perhaps now, 50 years later, he may give the real story to Irish reporters.

After some questions by Customs and Army officials at Baldonnel, the young flier was taken to meet John Cudahy, then U.S. Minister m Ireland. He took him to meet Eamonn De Valera, the Taoiseach, and his two official aviation experts, John Leyden and John Walsh.

De Valera waived all the formalities and welcomed him to Ireland saying: "We're glad to help you because the flight has put Ireland on the map".

As Corrigan would later write: "Mr. De Valera, Mr. Walsh and Mr. Leyden went down to the car with us and the news photographers got some pictures of us all as we said goodbye. Later that morning more cables came in and during the next five days there were 250 cables received.

"Some of the cables were about business offers of various kinds, but the majority were personal congratulations , from among others Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, Steve Reich, Ruth Nicholls, and others."

There followed 10 days of triumphant page-one progress. He met President Douglas Hyde, members of the Government and everybody who could get near him. On Monday July 25 he went to London on the flagship of Aer Lingus, the B.H 86 airliner, EIABK. He met Ambassador Joseph Kennedy in London and visited aircraft factories. On his return to Dublin he was given civic receptions by the Lord Mayor and a further reception in Cork before he boarded the liner Manhattan in Cork for his return to the U.S

He will arrive at Baldonnel at 2.20 p.m. in the afternoon which was the exact time that he landed at the aerodrome 50 years ago.

For more information on the amazing story of ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchive.com )