In 1942, Brendan O'Regan opened a restuarant and coffee shop in the Foynes terminal building and employed a Chef named Joe Sheridan. It was not long before Joe realised that the passengers coming to wait in the terminal in cold and rainy weather needed something to make the coffee a bit stronger. Thus, Irish Coffee was born.

Today, Foynes celebrates this wonderful drink every summer at the Irish Coffee Festival. In 2002, the 50th anniversary of Irish Coffee, a very special edition of the festival was held, that being also a signifcant birthday for our primary patron, Maureen O'Hara Blair. The picture on the right is of Maureen and our staff taken during that event. (Left to Right: Joan Maher, Maureen O'Hara Blair, Martina Nicholson and Helen Enright.)

For more details about Irish Coffee, it's history and the Irish Coffee Festival, please visit the Irish Coffee Festival website.