This book covers one of Ireland's most significant single development efforts in the twentieth century, the Shannon Airport. It developed into a multi-million pound enterprise in what was a remote location in the west of Ireland. Callanan examines the early 1960's initiatives which were typified by experimentation, trial and error; they led to the growth of an industrial estate, a new town, and emerging tourist attractions.

Stoic bureaucracy had to be overcome and they were by strong local leadership, closely associated with national policy makers, together with a clear vision of what could be achieved and supported by personal contacts and networks between decision-makers.