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So, a spell later a road trip ensues, with traveling pal (and erstwhile Everest summiter) Didrik Johnck. We recruit Ciarán Ganter, 16-year-veteran local guide, as escort, and in rented silver Mercedes Viano set out to craic the code.
It’s a bit of a haul from Los Angeles to Shannon, so arriving in the pearly light of early morning Didrik and I are a tad rattled and in need of a pick-me-up; something to sooth the nerves, yet keep us awake. So, Ciarán wheels us over to the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, where the original Irish Coffee was invented. Foynes, it turns out, was once the center of the universe, the original server farm for the world wide web, as from 1935 to 1945 it was the terminal for the first long-haul planes, the flying boats. “It was a mini-Casablanca,” pipes director Margaret O’Shaughnessy, whose grandfather was the communications manager for Foynes, meaning that, like Paul Revere, when a plane skid in he rode around town on his horse alerting folks to come and offer up food, drink and services. This was the hub, the vital link, as planes radiated from here to Newfoundland, New York, Africa, Brazil, Bermuda and the good of the Continent. But the flights didn’t always go as planned. In the winter of 1943 a Pan Am Clipper was nearing the half-way point to North America as a storm over the North Atlantic tossed the plane around like a cork in heavy seas. The pilot decided to turn around, and arrived back at Foynes in a wee hour of the night, with passengers cold, damp and unnerved. Joseph Sheridan, the local chef, was asked to concoct something for their condition, and splashed some Powers Irish whiskey into cups of coffee, dolloped on some heavy cream, and served ‘em up. “What is this? Brazilian coffee?” a delighted passenger asked. Joe thought for a moment, then, “Nope…Irish Coffee”….and a wicked neologism was born.
Source: TravelVideo.tv (press release)