Hanks stops off at Shannon

SHANNON has had a tonne of celebrity passengers over the last few months and last Sunday Tom Hanks was at the airport.

Since the start of June, Jean Kennedy Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake and his movie star wife, Jessica Biel, have all been there, making a fuel stop while en route from Greece to America.

The Oscar winner and star of blockbusters such as Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Philadelphia arrived in Shannon just in time to watch some of the All-Ireland minor semi-final between Limerick and Galway.

“They were only here for a brief stop but they were enjoying watching the minor match on TV so much that they delayed their departure to take in the end of the game,” said duty manager Carmel Donnellan.

“Tom and his sons were in the bar having a drink and he was explaining hurling to them and said ‘this is the game I have been telling you about’. His sons seemed to be enjoying the game also and then his daughter came over before they were joined by his wife.”

Carmel said that the two-time Oscar winner couldn’t have been nicer to those who were looking for pictures and autographs. “He is such a nice man and happily posed for photos with staff and passengers. He could have gone to the VIP room but he just stayed there in the Sheridan Bar with his family, watching the match the same as everyone else. He must have a grá for Galway as well as he wanted them to win the minor. There was plenty of Limerick staff around but we weren’t going to challenge him on that.”

She said it wasn’t the first time Hanks had been in Shannon. “Mr Hanks has been through here before. In fact, the last time he flew into Shannon he was with Bruce Springsteen. You can imagine the heads they turned. He really is as modest and nice as he comes across on screen.”