Alcock and Brown Statue Clifden

Alcock & Brown Statue

Discover the Alcock and Brown Statue in Clifden and explore the other memorials to the aviators who landed in Clifden in 1919.

Aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown made aviation history as the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic. They crash-landed in the soft bogs of Derrygimla, just south of Clifden. In 2020 just over 100 years later, they returned to Clifden in bronze.

The statue faithfully replicates the 1950s monument at Heathrow Airport.  The British government originally commissioned the statue, and renowned artist William McMillan sculpted it.  Bronze Art Ireland cast the Clifden replica. Developer Sean Mulryan funded the project.

The statue stands on Clifden’s main square only a few kilometres from the landing site that sealed their place in history.

Alcock and Brown Memorials

In 1959, a 14ft-high limestone monument in the shape of a ‘tail-fin’ rose on Ballinaboy Hill, over which the Vimy had flown en route to the nearby Marconi station.

Explore the Derrigimlagh site, where you can learn more about Alcock & Brown’s journey and the Marconi wireless station.

Ballyconneely Golf Club displays a commemorative plaque honouring the re-enactment flight by Mark Rebholz and the late Steve Fossett. In 2005, they flew for 18½ hours before landing in Ballyconneely.

In July 2025, Mark Rebholz returned to Clifden to mark the 20th anniversary of the re-enactment. He unveiled a new plaque, which will be installed at the Marconi site.