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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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'Falling Stars' by Peter McGarry
The new season of Clare Museum’s Lecture Series continues this Wednesday, December 11 at 7.30pm, with a talk by Peter McGarry entitled Il Volo Perduto (The Lost Flight) - The Alitalia Disaster at Shannon Airport February 1960.
Alitalia Flight 618 was an accident involving a Douglas DC-7C of the Italian airline Alitalia in Shannon, in the early hours of February 26, 1960.
After a refuelling stop at Shannon Airport, the plane crashed shortly after take-off at Clonloghan Cemetery, with only 18 of the 52 people on board surviving with serious injuries. Peter will tell the story behind this disaster.
The author of Falling Stars, the complete history of Shannon air crashes from 1946 to 1961, Peter McGarry's book has been featured in national media and has sold thousands of units since its launch in early 2023.
READ ALSO: Former bank in west Clare town set to house refugees following refurbishment
Peter is currently working on a follow-on book Rising Stars with journalist, Vincent Power. This next book will explore aviation as it was in its glory days in the 1950s and is being released to coincide with the arrival in Shannon, in late June 2025, of a very special Pan-American, round the world flight which will re-trace the routes of the flying boats.
The talk begins at 7:30pm and admission is free of charge.
While entry is free, there is likely to be a high level of interest in the talk, so those attending are asked to book a seat in advance by emailing: claremuseum@clarecoco.ie.
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