‘Pulling Back the Clouds’ takes off at Shannon Airport

MIKE Kelly, aviation enthusiast and curator of the Shannon Airport Aviation Gallery, has finally launched his long-awaited memoir, Pulling Back the Clouds.

At the showcase event, which took place at the Shannon Airport departure lounge was May Considine, CEO of The Shannon Airport Group, who said: “Back in July 2018 we had the pleasure of officially launching Mike’s amazing collection of more than 1,500 die-cast model aircraft, the largest public display of its type in the world. A large group of well-wishers and airport staff were in attendance at the event.”

Mike’s book, which was written by Kieran Beville and published by the Limerick Writers’ Centre, tells the story of how he first was bitten by the aviation bug, when as a small boy his father took him to view airplanes.

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For decades, the Limerick city native networked and befriended some of the world’s most renowned model aircraft distributors and the collection has some of the rarest and most prized aircraft models in the world.

His love for planes has led him, over 45 years, to collect nearly 2,500 die-cast model aircraft - spending an estimated €500,000 in the process.

Pulling Back the Clouds is the story of this remarkable man and the times he lived through.