Between 1946 and 1961, in the fledging years of Shannon International Airport, over two hundred lives were lost and countless others changed forever in a series of fatal air crashes. As the decades roll past, the number of former airport workers and rescue personnel who had first-hand experience of these terrible events sadly diminishes with each passing year.
With his new book, Falling Stars, Peter McGarry sets out to bring new light to details almost lost in the corridors of time. This book is far more than a forensic retelling of the Shannon crashes. Falling Stars is about human stories; the promising young lives cut short, the families ripped apart, tales of seemingly unshakeable careers cast aside, tales of real heroics and decency found within ordinary people. This work, the culmination of over 15 years of research and discovery, is also the story of finding new friends made through a common bond of remembrance of these times.
*****?
“Peter McGarry has deftly, painstakingly and brilliantly brought to life a largely forgotten chapter in the evolution of aviation when it was in the throes of awesome change before the advances of the jet age. Peter’s passion for his subject, with an unerring eye for detail and amply researched, shines brightly through every page as he gives accounts of aircraft that fell from the skies and also recreates the lives of aviators and travellers cut short in truly tragic circumstances. The author handles the heavy subject matter with compassion and humanity as he guides us with a flickering lamp along the road of the past, reconstructing the events and reviving the whispers and echoes.” – Vincent Power, Journalist & Author.