The question asked above refers to the last few lines of this piece. Patience. A far-seeing man was James Fitzmaurice. When Commandant in charge of our Air Corps, he wrote in 1927 to the Quarter-Master General of the Defence Forces, pointing out that Ireland should get into the race to be the first to make the east-west flight across the Atlantic. In Spring 1928, British, French, Italian, German and Dutch airmen would be fighting for the honour of being first in the race. Ireland should be there, for success would secure the recognition of Ireland as the port of arrival and departure of the transatlantic aerial services of the future". We know the rest. Ireland did not make a solo effort. But Fitzmaurice flew with two Germans in the Bremen, as co-pilot, and Teddy Fennelly in his recent book Fitz - and the Famous Flight depicts in word and photograph the huge crowds thronging city after city, while banquets and honours and receptions followed in dizzying sequence.
The rest of the story for Fitz is largely decline. And today's readers must wonder how it was that this brave, enterprising, charming and dedicated man - above all, a far-seeing airman - never took any real part in the eventual explosion of air traffic that came to Foynes and Shannon, to begin with. Was it not possible for Irish Governments of the Thirties and Forties somehow to make sure that his talents were permanently harnessed to the interests of his own country? He died in 1965 in poor circumstances. As Fennelly puts it: "Immediately on dying, Fitz became a national hero again and received the official acclaim of his country, something he had failed to achieve after the euphoria of his victorious homecoming in 1928 had died down. He was given a State funeral with full military honours.
"A newspaperman who met Fitz several times in 1946 found him a delightful companion, still the spry military man in demeanour. For decades after, he wondered if Fitz had been having him on, for when our hack said he was shortly off to the continent by air with his wife and child, Fitz raised an eyebrow. "Going up in one of those things without a parachute?" he asked. "At present I'm trying to sell the idea of parachutes for all passengers to the airlines." Anyway the hack, wife and child went - and returned.
Only recently he told this to that other outstanding airman Aidan Quigley. "That was Fitz's joke, wasn't it?" Aidan reflected briefly. No, there had been an idea at that time that perhaps in the new age there would be parachutes for all. Fitz wasn't to be doubted Aidan's book Green is My Sky tells much about the famous flight, too. Y