Come Fly With Me

By TADHG CURTIN

Two sons of Duhallow, Cormac O’Mahony, Derrinagree and Alex Dennehy, Kilcorney hold the occupation of airline pilot. Tadhg got to talk to them about how they got be a pilot and what the job entails.

Cormac with his son CJ.

Cormac O’Mahony,

Airline Pilot and Captain with Emerald Airlines

What is it really like?

It is a very enjoyable job as no two days are the same. However, that alone brings its own set of challenges. Flying with different crew members and constantly changing weather means we always have to be at our best. We always operate as a multi crew, which means there are two pilots, and we carry two cabin crew also. Luckily, as Emerald Airlines only operate regional routes, it means we return to Dublin every day so don’t have to overnight away from base. This gives us a great work/ life balance.

What subjects did you most enjoy in school / college?

I am a very practical person and love using my hands so naturally Woodwork and Metalwork were very enjoyable for me. I also enjoyed the problem-solving aspects of Maths and Physics. I really didn’t enjoy learning languages and I was never very good at them. How did you arrive at your current position?

When I finished school, I joined a flying school in Waterford who were offering a course which enabled me to complete all my flying licences and also get a Degree in Aviation Business with Waterford Institute of Technology. Once I completed that, I started my first job with Stobart Air as a first officer. With them, I was based in both Dublin and Cork. In 2019, I completed my upgrade course to become a Captain which was a huge milestone for me. Unfortunately, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, Stobart Air went into liquidation and we all lost our jobs. In 2022, Emerald Airlines started up and I was hired as a Captain with them.

Have you any regrets?

I wouldn’t say I have any regrets. I am a fairly positive person and like to believe that every experience in life, whether good or bad, shapes who I am as a person and creates the path to where I am now.

What do you love most about your job?

I love that every day is different. Each day has a new challenge and the view out of the window is constantly changing.

What do you least love about your job?

The paperwork. Everything now must be recorded and filed. I understand that this is all down to safety so that errors can be traced and prevented but it leads to a huge amount of paperwork to be completed every day.

Any advice for students hoping for a career in your field?

For people interested in a career in aviation, I would strongly suggest doing a voucher flight with any of the training schools just so you can get a feel for what flying feels like before you jump into a full course. They also hold career seminars for interested people which can be very helpful and informative.

But for choosing a career in general, I believe you should choose something that you love to do because it really is true what they say, if you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.

Can you talk about how covid interfered with flying and how that affected you?

COVID was extremely damaging to the whole aviation industry as most people know but for me personally, it had a huge impact. I was laid off in March 2020 and didn’t get back flying until April 2022. In the meantime, Stobart Air went into liquidation so I had to look for a new job once things started to get back to normal.

In the time when I was out of flying, I was forced to look for other work and took up a position with a concrete cutting and coring specialist in Millstreet. This was a huge career change for me, but I think it has really reminded me that I’m very lucky to have a career in which I love what I do.

Like Cormac, Alex gets to experience sunrises and sunsets differently to the rest of us.

Alex Dennehy

Airline Pilot and First Officer with Emerald Airlines

What is it really like?

Every day is different, between dealing with challenging weather conditions, delays and technical issues with the aircraft there’s always something to keep you on your toes.

What subjects did you most enjoy in school / college?

Physics, engineering and construction studies as I liked working with my hands.

How did you arrive at your current position?

I started training at Atlantic Flight Training Academy in October 2017 and finished at the end of January 2019. Then, I got my first job with Stobart Air based at Cork Airport in April 2019, and I am now flying with Emerald Airlines operating the Aer Lingus Regional routes based out of Dublin Airport since May 2022.

Have you any regrets?

No, granted not every day is plain sailing but I still look forward to coming into work and I get great satisfaction from the job.

What do you love most about your job?

I enjoy the people that I work with and meet on a day to day basis, the challenge of manually flying the aircraft and the sunrises and sunsets aren’t bad either!

What do you least love about your job?

The 3:45 a.m. alarm when doing early flights and missing out on events with family and friends.

Any advice for students hoping for a career in your field?

Have a look around at different flight schools, do plenty of research on the job itself to be certain that it’s a career that you want and always have a plan B as the industry can go through ups and downs.

Can you talk about how Covid interfered with flying and how that affected yo?

Covid was a massive interruption in my career, initially we were told that flying would stop for a few weeks and in the end after just over 2 years I finally got back to flying with Emerald Airlines. The industry has picked up again very quickly and I’m looking forward to a busy summer schedule!

Special thanks to Cormac and Alex as well as Owen Dennehy, Rathcoole, for suggesting the feature.