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Shannon - History

The town Shannon is named after the river on which it is situated - the River Shannon. It is the longest river in Ireland or Britain.

Shannon is Clare's newest town. The town grew up as a direct result of the sitting of the International Airport there in 1939. Shannon was Ireland's first "artificial" town - it was built and designed by the government. It did not spring from natural growth, as in other Irish towns.

It has been commissioned by the Government in 1942 to be a military base.

However, this part of Clare was inhabited long before the airport arrived. Around the year 840 A.D. Vikings, travelling by sea, landed at Tullyglass on the shores of the Shannon. They built the first banks to keep the river out and set about cultivating the land.

Because of its airport, Shannon - now a town of 12,000 inhabitants - is quite often the first town encountered by travellers arriving in Ireland.

In 2000, a new modern section of the airport was opened. It can now handle many more passengers each year.

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