The country's largest and busiest airport is marking a milestone tomorrow - Dublin Airport will celebrate its 75th birthday.
The airport has carried 435 million passengers since it opened back on January 19th, 1940.
Its inaugural flight that day was a single trip to Liverpool's Speke Airport.
Shortly after 9am, an Aer Lingus Lockheed 14 aircraft took off from the grass runway close to the original passenger terminal - which was still being built at the time.
Laying turf sods for the grass runway in 1936 | Image: DAA
But as war raged in Europe, the airport was effectively mothballed for the next five years. Its only service was to Liverpool or occasionally to Manchester's Barton Aerodrome.
The first scheduled service to London was in November 1945, with a two and a half hour direct flight to Croydon Airport. Air mail services were added in 1946.
Connections to other British cities and Europe were added and in April 1958, Dublin Airport got its first scheduled transatlantic service to New York.
Its route network has grown substantially in recent years - and now offers direct services to Britain, North America, Continental Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Construction at Dublin Airport | Image: DAA
"This year, as we celebrate Dublin Airport’s 75 birthday, we continue to expand and improve the operation to offer our customers more destinations and additional choice and flexibility, with 14 new services already announced for 2015," said Dublin Airport managing director, Vincent Harrison.
To mark its 75th birthday, the airport will have musical entertainment from the 1940s and 1950s in both terminals tomorrow.
While an exhibition showing changes at the airport has also been installed in Terminal 1, and will be open to the public throughout the year.
The airport will be using #DUB75 on social media.
Dublin Airport: How time flies
- 1936 Irish Government announces plans for civilian airport at Collinstown
- 1938 Work begins on the new terminal building
- 1940 Dublin Airport opens with one flight per day to Liverpool
- 1945 First Dublin Airport-London service begins to Croydon
- 1947 KLM starts Dublin-Manchester-Amsterdam service
- 1948 Completion of concrete runways
- 1949 Passenger numbers reach 200,000 per year
- 1958 First scheduled transatlantic service as passenger numbers top 500,000 per year
- 1959 North Terminal opens
- 1963 Welcomes more than 1 million passengers
- 1972 Terminal 1 opens
- 1989 Passenger numbers reach 5 million
- 1990 Celebrates 50th birthday
- 1997 Welcomes more than 10 million passengers
- 2008 Passenger numbers reach a record 23.5 million
- 2010 Terminal 2 opens
- 2014 Welcomes 21.7 million passengers
- 2015 Celebrates 75th birthday
