Fying Boats and Irish Coffee


Back in the 1930's and 40's one of the most interesting, if not fanciest, modes of travel was in a flying boat. Yes, seriously. The flying boat or seaplane was a large structure weighing aproximately 41 tons. And it was literally a boat and a plane. The luxury of these crafts nearly equaled that of any ocean liner of its time, including large staterooms and dining rooms serving gourmet food. They carried all kinds of people, from royalty to movie stars, to refugees. Because of their size, however, the seaplanes could not fly much higher than 500 feet over the ocean. This left them at the mercy of storms whenever they arose, and often they had to turn back. Flights between Botwood, Newfoundland and Foynes, a layover airbase on the river Shannon, often took up to 19 hours.

One winter day in 1943, the Foynes airbase chef was notified of a flight coming in. It had left ten hours earlier, bound for New York, but after five grueling hours of battling the storm, the decision was made to turn back. Thinking ahead, the chef decided the passengers needed something special to warm them. He brewed dark, rich coffee, splashed in some Irish whiskey and topped each cup off with freshly whipped cream.

"There was a hushed silence as cups were raised to lips, seeking the warm brew. 'Hey Buddy,' said a surprised American Passenger, 'is this Brazilian coffee?'

'No,' said the Chef, 'that's Irish Coffee.'"*

Needless to say, the coffee received rave reviews from the passengers, and soon became an acclaimed and famous drink around the world.

Today, the town of Foynes along with Powers Whiskey company holds an Irish Coffee festival. The next one will be from Friday, July 20th, to Sunday, July 22nd, 2001. Visitors will enjoy a wide range of free family activities, including choosing the Powers World Irish Coffee making champion.

For more information on the Flying Boat Museum at Foynes and all they offer, take a look at their home page.

http://webforge.net/foynes/ home page of the Foynes museum

*http://webforge.net/foynes/page3.html Quote taken from this page.

http://www.sprucegoose.org/ for information about Howard Hughes' flying boat, the Spruce Goose.

The copyright of the article Fying Boats and Irish Coffee in Irish History is owned by Lianne Bruynell Lopes. Permission to republish Fying Boats and Irish Coffee in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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