Aviation History
Irish civil aviation formally began in 1936 with the founding of Aer Lingus, which flew its inaugural Dublin-Bristol service that May. Shannon Airport, developed on Ireland's west coast in the late 1930s and 1940s, became a vital transatlantic refuelling stop after the Second World War and, in 1947, hosted the world's first duty-free shop, an Irish innovation later copied globally. State-owned Aer Lingus grew into Ireland's transatlantic flag carrier from the late 1950s, while Dublin separately emerged as a global centre of aircraft leasing following the 1975 founding of Guinness Peat Aviation. From the mid-1980s, the founding of Ryanair introduced low-cost aviation to Europe, and following EU market liberalisation in the 1990s it grew into one of the continent's largest airlines. Aer Lingus itself was acquired by International Airlines Group in 2015.
Ireland's national airline was established and flew its first scheduled service between Dublin and Bristol.
Following runway extensions after WWII, Shannon Airport became a key refuelling and stopover point for early transatlantic flights.
The Customs Free Airport Act established Shannon as the world's first duty-free airport, an Irish innovation later adopted worldwide.
Aer Lingus began scheduled transatlantic flights to New York, extending Ireland's aviation reach across the Atlantic.
The founding of GPA in Dublin helped establish Ireland as a global hub for commercial aircraft leasing.
Ryanair was established, later pioneering the low-cost airline model in Europe from the early 1990s.
European single-market aviation deregulation allowed Ryanair and other Irish carriers to expand rapidly across the continent.
International Airlines Group completed its acquisition of Aer Lingus, bringing Ireland's flag carrier under the parent of British Airways and Iberia.
Aer Lingus · Ryanair · CityJet · Aer Arann (Stobart Air)
Compiled from general public/encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia, Aer Lingus and Shannon Airport histories); passenger-volume rankings for Ryanair can shift year to year.