Recent delivery: storage park with the most beautiful entrance
Ik denk dat we, al onze prachtige projecten ten spijt, kunnen stellen dat we de mooiste entree van een storage park die wij ooit hebben gezien gevonden hebben. In de week van 17 januari hebben we een levering begeleid in het prachtige Ierland. De locatie was bij Clare Storage, Clarecastle, in het westen van het land.
A special place, full of modern and early history. This area of Ireland belongs to the westernmost part of continental Europe. A few kilometers to the west and there is nothing left but ocean, up to the coast of Canada. For that reason, Shannon Airport is also located in this place. For a period of 25 years (40s to late 60s) this was the airport that was served by all aircraft that flew between Europe and America. After refueling here and spending the night, they ventured overseas.
In good company
Shannon’s very long runway was among the longest in the world and an official fallback port for the Space Shuttle, if weather conditions wouldn’t allow it to land in the U.S. In the hotel where I slept, the wall in the lobby was full of photos of dozens of celebrities and politicians such as Castro, Marilyn Monroe and Charly Chaplin, who all spent the night here during the refueling session. I left my picture on a nail just to be sure.
Famine
In the 19th century, this place unfortunately was also the setting for one of the greatest famines that Europe has known. Due to a number of failed potato harvests and poor management from England, millions of Irish died of starvation. There was also a large wave of emigration to the U.S. via the so-called coffin ships, the ‘coffin ships’, where sometimes as many as 30% of the people on board did not survive the journey. A replica of such a ship, along with a very impressive memorial to the victims, can be found in Dublin.
Delivery
Enough history. Our project started with an introduction during the Fedessa Show in Birmingham, last October. Then the desire was expressed to do business together. The delivery was supposed to take place before Christmas, but the bad weather disrupted the sailing schedule of shipping company DFDS. Because of the Brexit problems, we have opted for a crossing from Cherbourg, France to Dublin. From there, the truck headed west.
Construction
The current owner, Pat Quinn, is already the fifth generation in this beautiful place. The family also lives on the plot. Over the past twenty years, the former cowsheds have been converted into professional halls full of storage units. This is now supplemented with a storage park. The truck was unloaded with a large telehandler, after which the Irish local construction team put down the first container. I was there to guide this process. After exchanging some tips & tricks, the next container was of course no problem.
We wish Pat Quinn the best of luck with his new storage park!