Conor Beau Fitzsimons, Maureen O’Hara’s grandson, donates star’s possessions to new exhibit as Limerick museum plans new Maureen O’Hara wing.
Almost three decades since Hollywood great Maureen O’Hara officially opened the Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum, the Co. Limerick attraction welcomed back the memory of the Co. Dublin-born actress in a new exhibit featuring some of her most prized possessions.
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Image: Oisín McHugh
Donated by the “Queen of Technicolor’s” grandson Conor Beau Fitzsimons, two rooms of the museum have been dedicated to the Maureen O’Hara exhibit, officially opened on Monday, July 9, by Minister of State for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform Patrick O’Donovan TD. As well as including O’Hara’s lifetime achievement Oscar and her passport, the exhibit also features her costumes and accessories, glamorous red carpet outfits, and correspondences with movie stars and world leaders.
Image: Oisín McHugh
Speaking at the official opening, Founder and Manager of the Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum Margaret O’Shaughnessy explained that the current rooms are a temporary exhibit for the amazing memorabilia with plans underway to extend the museum with a very special Maureen O’Hara wing.
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Image: Oisín McHugh
“This exhibition is designed to show a very, very small selection of the entire collection that was donated to the museum by Maureen O’Hara’s grandson, Conor Beau Fitzsimons. We have designed a new extension for the museum to house the complete collection and are awaiting funding to do just that. Ideally, we would love to open the new wing on August 17, 2020, on the centenary of the birth of our late patron Maureen,” O’Shaughnessy said.
Image: Oisín McHugh
“The Maureen O’Hara Exhibition cost €100,000, which was partly funded by Limerick City & County Council, and I would like to acknowledge the local authority’s contribution.”
“It has been a tough year for the museum as we have fought to overcome the damage caused by serious flooding this past winter. An investment of €580,000 to repair the damage means the museum is even better than ever, and today we welcome a new addition in the form of the Maureen O’Hara Exhibit.”
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Image: Oisín McHugh
The museum also marked another historic occasion at the opening, hosting the Hollywood-themed launch on the 79th anniversary of the first commercial passenger Pan Am flight from New York landing in Foynes.
The Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum is expected to remain one of the hottest spots this summer for tourists visiting the Midwest and the Wild Atlantic Way with thousands of fans of Maureen O’Hara expected to join maritime and aviation enthusiasts in visiting the world-renowned museum on the Shannon estuary.
Minister of State for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform Patrick O’Donovan TD and Founder and Manager of the Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum Margaret O’Shaughnessy at the opening of the Maureen O'Hara exhibition. Photo: Oisin McHugh
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