Carlingford Lough
CARLINGFORD LOUGH: Seaplane display site
Operated by: Henri Salmet (Daily Mail)
Location: Probably in or near Carlingford town?
Period of operation: Probably for one day in June 1914
NOTES: The first aspect to point out is that when this display took place, it was before the Republic of Ireland was formed, and the whole of Eire was still part of the United Kingdom.
The then very famous French aviator Henri Salmet had been sponsored by the Daily Mail to perform displays of flying around the UK with his Blériot monoplane, (since 1912), and it appears he used floats on this occassion. It was quite common for Salmet to switch from wheels to floats, and vica-versa, during his tours depending on the availability and suitability of the various sites visited.
I do not know the exact site for the venue he elected to use, (can anybody kindly offer advice?), but Carlingford would appear to be the obvious choice as these events attracted huge crowds. They were also considered to be a matter of considerable civic prestige, with bands playing, a firework display in the evening plus a gala dinner, usually at the town hall for the local dignitaries and worthies. Very often a public holiday was announced!
Aviators such as Salmet and Gustav Hamel (an Englishman incidentally) really were Super-Stars during that era. Just think about it; in more recent times can you think of a public holiday being declared when any very famous 'Star' has arrived in town? I do actually not know if this happened here, but it certainly did at his next venue at Bangor in County Down east of Belfast. (See listing for more info)
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