'A Wing and a Prayer' - The Story of Knock Airport

Sep 16, 1986

0h 52m

★ 10.0

We're building an airport!

Overview

"We're building an airport", Monsignor James Horan tells Jim Fahy of RTÉ News, in 1981. The bold story of a 'simple' country priest, with a dream to build a 7500ft runway for an international airport, on a "foggy, boggy hill" in and around Barnacahoge and Barnalyra, Co. Mayo. A feat few thought possible. It began as a one off news item, and develops into a charming documentary, written by Fahy and directed by Blackman over the years. The changing governments, all get caught up in the chaos, and almost nobody in power wanted it to go ahead. This controversial campaign to put Connacht on the map, faces setback after setback. But none great enough, to stop this "old man in a hurry" from getting his airport for the province, opened to the public by 1986.

Genres

Documentary

History

TV Movie

Production Companies

RTÉ

'A Wing and a Prayer' - The Story of Knock Airport Trailers

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Cast

Self - Knock Parish Priest

Monsignor James Horan

Self - Fianna Fáil (four time) Former Taoiseach

Charles Haughey

Self - Fianna Fáil Minister of State Department of Transport, 1980-81

Pádraig Flynn

Self - Fianna Fáil Minister for Transport 1979-81

Albert Reynolds

Self - Fine Gael TD Minister for Communications 1984-87

Jim Mitchell

Self - Airport Design Consultant

Jim Ryan

Self - Mayo County Manager

Michael O'Malley

Self - Jaycees International, 1981

Joe Murphy

Self - Fine Gael TD, Mayo East 1977-87

Paddy O'Toole

Self - Labour TD, Minister of State Department of Finance 1981-82

Barry Desmond

Self - Airport Action Committee

Frank McCullogh

Self - CBS '60 Minutes' Reporter

Morley Safer

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