The Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, has announced his intention to appoint Conal Henry to the position of Chairperson of Shannon Group.

Mr Henry is expected to be formally appointed as Chair following his appearance before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications which the Minister hopes can be arranged at the earliest opportunity.

Speaking today, Minister Ryan said “Given the important role of Shannon Group to the economy of the Midwest region and nationally, I am pleased that Conal Henry is willing to accept the position of Chairperson of Shannon Group.

“Conal has 15 years’ experience at board level in both executive and non-executive positions and his career spans the aviation, telecoms, retail and banking sectors. I am confident that he will play a key role in leading Shannon Group in its continued recovery.”

Welcoming his appointment, Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group said: “I am pleased to welcome Mr Henry in his new role as Shannon Group chair. His vast experience across a range of commercial businesses including aviation, will be very valuable as we continue to drive our recovery and rebuild our business in the aftermath of the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are committed to restoring our airport traffic and to building on our strong property investment strategy so that we can enhance our economic contribution to the mid-west region and nationally. We have already made significant strides in that direction, offering our passengers services to 26 destinations from Shannon Airport this summer.”

Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton added, “Aviation, and Shannon Airport, is critically important to our economy, both directly and indirectly, particularly for the Mid-West region. It is a key enabler of tourism and commerce, it connects businesses to suppliers and to customers, and it ever-facilitates and sustains our significant levels of foreign direct investment.

“I look forward to working closely with Conal in his new role and am confident of his ability to support Shannon Group as it emerges from the COVID-19 crisis.”

Minister Ryan also announced that he has accepted the resignation of Mr Pádraig Ó Céidigh as Chairperson of Shannon Group plc. Mr O’ Céidigh was appointed Chairperson of Shannon Group on 20 October 2021.

Commenting on Mr O’Céidigh’s resignation, the Minister said “I have accepted the resignation of Mr O’Céidigh and wish to thank him for his dedication and engagement as Chairperson of Shannon Group, particularly given these challenging times for the aviation sector. I would like to wish Mr O’Céidigh the best with his future endeavours.”

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Tourism and Aviation Cathal Crowe has welcomed the swift appointment of Mr Henry but is calling on Minister Ryan to change the terms of his appointment.

“Whilst I welcome Mr Henry’s appointment, it concerns me that Pádraig Ó Céidigh’s tenure was a board chairperson so in effect his functions were limited to just being at the airport when the board was actually meeting but I believe in order to see a full recovery to pre-Covid levels, we need to see Mr Henry in an executive chairperson role,2 said the Meelick TD.

“This would ensure that he’s in the airport on a more permanent basis – that is the only way that somebody can effectively oversee the running of Shannon Group and Shannon Airport.

“This is an issue I will be taking up with Minister Ryan.

“Today, I am writing to you him to ask that he change the terms of Mr Henry’s appointment so that we ensure a very hands-on chair is leading Shannon Group at this critical time.

“Now that we have transatlantic fights back at Shannon, we need to try to secure further routes into continental Europe.

“Whilst the Ryanair routes are hugely attractive and positive for the Midwest region, we do also need to see air connectivity to major European hubs that provide onward flights to Asia, the Middle East and Australia.

“Because of Mr Henry’s Ryanair background, he understands aviation but to really be a positive driving force for Shannon Group, he will need to be there on a day-to-day basis working in tandem with Mary Considine and her team.”