Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

basin comprised all of counties

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

, Limerick, and the former North Tipperary, as well as north Kerry and west Offaly. Its key founder was

Brendan O'Regan Brendan O'Regan CBE (1917–2008) was an Irish businessman responsible for developing Shannon Airport, inventing the concept of the duty-free shop and transforming the Shannon Region of Ireland. He was involved in promoting peace in Northern Irel ...

. Shannon Development worked with, but was not an agency of,

Forfás Forfás () was the national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation in Ireland. The agency was established in January 1994 under thIndustrial Development Act, 1993and was run by a board appointed by the Mi ...

Responsibility

Shannon Development was set up as Shannon Free Airport Development Company by the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

to promote the airport and region. Shannon Airport was built at a strategic point on the early transatlantic flying route, but with the age of the jet, its fortunes declined. In 1969 Aer Rianta took responsibility of the airport. Shannon Development was responsible for a number of areas of development of the region including tourism and industry similar to

IDA Ireland Industrial Development Agency (IDA Ireland) ( ga, An Ghníomhaireacht Forbartha Tionscail) is the agency responsible for the attraction and retention of inward foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in ...

. The agency was responsible for Shannon Free Zone and National Technology Park on which the University of Limerick is located.

Shannon Town Shannon () or Shannon Town (), named after the river near which it stands, is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limeric ...

was also created and managed by the company until it was transferred to Clare County Council in 2004. This property transfer was the biggest property transaction in the history of the state. Shannon Development also acted as a landlord for many companies in the region. Companies that qualify, paid rent to Shannon Development. In return the company can apply for Enterprise Ireland grant funding through Shannon Development. This constitutes a symbiotic relationship. The government reviewed the role of the agency in July 2005 and its functions are being realigned. Under the new arrangements, Shannon Development will have an enhanced regional economic development role with a particular emphasis on addressing the needs of the less developed parts of the Shannon region. It will also retain responsibility for the Shannon Free Zone industrial park. The existing enterprise support functions (carried out by Shannon Development in relation to both indigenous and overseas enterprises) will be assumed by the national agencies, Enterprise Ireland and

. Shannon Development became part of Shannon Group plc on 10 November 2014. To emphasise a more commercially focused property remit, Shannon Development was renamed Shannon Commercial Enterprises Ltd, trading as Shannon Enterprises.

Shannon Heritage

Shannon Heritage, a member of the group, is a semi-state commercial body responsible for operating tourist sites including the GPO, Craggaunowen, King John's Castle and Bunratty Castle. In August 2019

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...

announced Shannon Heritage were to be appointed to run the Fry Model Railway when it re-opens in addition to Malahide Castle and Demesne which they already operate.

References

External links

Shannon DevelopmentEnterprise IrelandIDA Ireland
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110721125013/http://www.irishpressreleases.ie/printer-page.php?p=1538 {{authority control Economy of the Republic of Ireland Defunct government agencies of Ireland

Responsibility

Shannon Heritage

See also

References

External links