‘A most ingenious mechanic’:Ireland’s first airman

  Richard Crosbie organised three manned balloon flights in Dublin in 1785, and made a final flight from Limerick in 1786. He is rightly celebrated as Ireland’s first aeronaut, and today there is a memorial to him in Ranelagh Gardens, where his first flight took place. Crosbie was born near Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, c. 1756, descended ... Read more

Subscribe to History Ireland in print or digital here


View Subscription Options

Already a subscriber? Sign in