It was the day Ireland welcomed home their World Cup heroes.
The heroics of Jack Charlton’s Boys in Green at Italia 90 held the nation spellbound.
And when they flew home, 50,000 turned up at Dublin Airport to say thanks.
People may not remember that, on the same day, the people of Ireland also welcomed another hero.
Nelson Mandela touched down on July 1, 1990 to fulfill a promise he had made in the hellhole of Robben Island where he had spent 18 of 27 years behind bars before the fall of the despised apartheid regime.
While still a political prisoner, Mandela was made a Freeman of Dublin and he promised that one day he would collect the city’s greatest honour in person.
The airport has played host to many icons since it opened nearly 80 years ago on January 19, 1940.
The first flight? An Aer Lingus Lockheed 14 which made the short hop over the Irish Sea to Liverpool.
Since then a host of famous names have looked out the cabin window at the Irish Sea, taking in Ireland’s Eye and the stunning north Dublin coast.
The man they still call “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali wowed the crowds and President John F Kennedy and even The Beatles all flew into Dublin.
As the airport prepares to celebrate its 80th birthday, those famous visitors are recalled in a special commemorative 2020 calendar.
It will be on sale for €10 from The Loop retail area at the airport.
Three charities will benefit: Debra Ireland, Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre and Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland.
It’s a real trip down memory lane.
