PITTSBURGH — When the first Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Pittsburgh landed at Pittsburgh International Airport on the evening of May 25, it represented the culmination of decades of work by Jim Lamb and others. Lamb is the president of the Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh and honorary consol of Ireland for Pittsburgh, and he’s spent decades lobbying for direct flights between the Steel City and the Emerald Isle. At the Ireland Institute, Lamb helps promote economic development between the two, with programs focused on job training, educational exchanges and the Pittsburgh Irish Business Network to connect companies and encourage trade and investment. And if that’s not enough, you’ll find Lamb, an accomplished Irish musician from a celebrated Pittsburgh political family, on stage all over western Pennsylvania several times a month.
How happy are you about the Aer Lingus flight?
I would say the first push for the flight, just for me and the organization that I now run, goes back to at least 2001, 2002. Getting that flight was really a huge group effort. I can’t give enough credit to Rich Fitzgerald and (Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO) Christina Cassotis, her staff, (and Air Service and Commercial Development SVP) Bryan Dietz. He explained the science and art of getting a flight to me. (State Sen.) Devlin Robinson, he deserves credit for all that he’s trying to do.
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