No plans to mark historic flight
COMMEMORATION of the centenary of a historic flight which ended in a field near Monageer may be monopolised by Wexford and Kilkenny.
It was in April 1912 that the intrepid Denys Corbett-wilson brought the first ever flight from Wales to Ireland to halt when he made an emergency landing in a field at Crane in the Monageer area. He was brought in triumph to Enniscorthy and later gave exhibition flights at the Showgrounds.
Members of the Monageer Model County flying club, which has a model Bleriot plane similar to the one in which Corbett-wilson made his perilous journey, are keen to join in activities to mark the 100 years. However, they have discovered that no official plans have been finalised for the centenary in the Enniscorthy area. The commemoration stone which was erected in the grounds of Enniscorthy Castle to mark the 75th anniversary has since disappeared, to the embarrassment of local authority officials. Meanwhile, extravagant centenary plans are being laid in Wales, where a fly-past will be staged to remind the public of the exploits of the pioneering aviator who later died during World War One.
A play has been commissioned to be performed at venues in Wales during April before transferring for a night on the stage at the Wexford arts centre. Meanwhile, it is also understood that Corbett-wilson will not be forgotten in Kilkenny either. The pilot's mother hailed from County Kilkenny and Denys Corbett-wilson spent part of his childhood there.
