AirNav Ireland's North Atlantic Communications Centre at Ballygirreen Marks 90 Years of Service
Why It MattersThe anniversary underlines how North Atlantic oceanic traffic, including long-range business jets, still depends on shortwave radio links managed by a few specialist centres rather than radar or VHF coverage.
AirNav Ireland's North Atlantic Communications Centre at Ballygirreen, Co Clare, is marking 90 years of uninterrupted service to the global aviation industry. Since 1936 the centre has supported the safe passage of millions of aircraft crossing the North Atlantic. Beyond the reach of radar and VHF radio, it uses high frequency shortwave radio, bouncing signals off the ionosphere to overcome the curvature of the Earth. Around 70 personnel, including more than 50 radio officers supported by technical, engineering and administrative teams, manage air-ground communications across the Shanwick Oceanic Control Area, handling up to 1,800 flights daily. AirNav Ireland also works with Iceland's air navigation service provider, Avians, to deliver high frequency radio communications.
Speaking at an anniversary exhibition at Foynes Flying Boat Museum, AirNav Ireland Chief Executive Gerald Caffrey said it was a proud moment for staff, past and present, and their families. He said the team's commitment over 90 years has made Irish airspace one of the safest and most efficient in the world, and that AirNav Ireland continues to invest in people and technology supporting its Mid-West operations.
The station was established in October 1936 on a 90-acre site near Shannon, initially providing Morse code ground communications for transatlantic flying boats operating out of Foynes. A move to the current purpose-built facility in 1951 coincided with the industry's shift from Morse code to voice communications. In 1966, an agreement between the Irish and UK governments paired air traffic control at Prestwick with radio communications at Ballygirreen to create the joint Shanwick operational framework, which remains a cornerstone of North Atlantic air traffic operations.
Many early radio officers came from the Merchant Navy. Mike Kirwan joined Shannon Aeradio in 1981, following his father Dermod, one of the original 1936 marine radio officers. Tim O'Mahony, who trained at the Marine Radio School in Limerick and served with the Marconi Marine Company, joined Ballygirreen in 1971 and retired in 2013. Over nine decades the centre has handled traffic from flying boats and Douglas DC-3 aircraft through the Boeing 747 era to today's long-range fleets.
