Image: Sean Curtin True Media
IRELAND. Shannon Airport has unveiled a bust celebrating the memory of the founder of airport duty free, Dr. Brendan O’Regan, on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Dr. O’Regan developed the world’s first duty free shop at Shannon Airport in 1947, a concept ahead of its time in the aviation world, and quickly replicated in airports across the globe.
He is credited with spearheading a new era of economic development in the mid-west of Ireland and the airport said he was “referred to as a visionary and innovator who never saw boundaries, just horizons”.
The bust is located on the second floor of the Shannon Airport terminal building and is accompanied by a six panel exhibition on the life and work of Dr. O’Regan, lent to the airport by Clare County Museum.
The Moodie Davitt Report is currently producing a special publication to mark 70 years of duty free & travel retail in 2017. Shannon Duty Free shop staff, past and present came together to celebrate the platinum anniversary, with the first-ever staff reunion on 29 March.
“Dr. Brendan O’Regan was one of the most fascinating and influential people of our time. He was a renaissance man, a pioneer of regional development, charismatic and charming; a man who brought a passion and determination to every task he undertook,” said Shannon Group Chair Rose Hynes at the unveiling of the bust today.
“He rarely took ‘no’ for an answer and he was very driven in pursuit of his projects. He wasn’t afraid to think big. His initials ‘BOR’ in Shannon came to mean ‘Bash on Regardless’. He saw opportunities not limitations and his ability to reach for the skies had a transformative effect on this region and beyond. He firmly believed in following your dreams and never giving up on an idea.”
Shannon Group CEO Matthew Thomas stated: “So much of what is vibrant and good in economic and social terms in the Shannon region and beyond today is a lasting tribute to Dr. Brendan O’Regan, an innovator, entrepreneur and, ultimately, a great man.
“I’ve worked in the aviation industry globally over twenty years now and Dr. O’Regan’s legacy is remarkable in an international context. He was a true altruistic visionary. This, together with the incredible world impacting initiatives he developed, set him apart. We all carry a huge responsibility to his legacy. We owe it to him to continue to reach higher than we think possible and to constantly try to be the best at what we do.”
Dr. O’Regan was head-hunted in the early 1940s to take over as Catering Comptroller at Foynes flying boat base, the premier transatlantic aviation gateway into Europe at that time.
In 1945 he transferred to the new Rineanna Airport (later renamed Shannon Airport) in the same role, where he is credited with changing the future course of economic development on the western half of Ireland.
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| “If you’re involved in developing an important idea, you have to let it possess you. If you keep knocking on the door, the door will open.” – Dr Brendan O’Regan |
Shannon Airport said one of Dr. O’Regan’s great leadership qualities “was his belief that everyone had the capacity to be creative and the inclusive environment he created for his staff was key in the rapid progress made and the range of innovations achieved.
“He firmly believed in following your dreams and never giving up on an idea. He once said: ‘If you’re involved in developing an important idea, you have to let it possess you. If you keep knocking on the door, the door will open. You’ll get there, not particularly with your own abilities, but with others that you gather around you’.”As well as developing the first duty free shop, other initiatives spearheaded by Dr. O’Regan were:
- Developing the Shannon Free Zone, the world’s first Free Trade Zone, which today is Ireland’s biggest multi-sectoral business park , employing over 7,000 people in over 130 companies and housing the country’s largest cluster of FDI investment outside of Dublin. Shannon Free Zone was used as the model for the world’s first Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in China and the world over. Today there are approximately 2,600 Free Zones globally employing upwards of 60 million people.
- Developing the Shannon College of Hotel Management. Graduates of the internationally acclaimed college include some of the world’s top hoteliers, Shannon Airport said.
- Transforming Bunratty Castle into one of Ireland’s leading tourist attractions. This was followed by similar initiatives at other medieval properties in the West of Ireland, giving rise to Shannon Heritage – Ireland’s largest operator of tourist attractions with sites in Clare, Galway, Limerick and Dublin.
- Creating regional development agency Shannon Free Airport Development Company (SFADCO, later Shannon Development) to advance the economic development of the Mid-West.
- Being one of the driving forces in the early 1960s behind the development of Ireland’s newest town and only town created in the 20th century, Shannon.
