Ahakista Air India Plane Disaster Memorial

The Air India Disaster Memorial stands beside the water at Ahakista, a small village on the Sheep’s Head Peninsula in County Cork. It remembers the 329 people who died on 23 June 1985 when Air India Flight 182, travelling from Canada to India, was destroyed by a bomb off the south-west coast of Ireland. Relatives of those who died asked for a permanent memorial after visiting the area, which lies close to the sea where the aircraft came down, and Cork County Council acquired the site so that a garden could be created.

At the heart of the memorial is a garden and a sundial by the Cork sculptor Ken Thompson, presented as a gift from the people of Ireland, India and Canada. The sundial is positioned so that the sun strikes the dial at 8 o’clock in the morning, the time of the explosion, and the names of those who lost their lives are recorded at the memorial. The setting is quiet and reflective, looking out over Dunmanus Bay.

The memorial was officially opened on 23 June 1986 at a ceremony attended by the foreign ministers of Ireland, India and Canada. A commemoration is held here each year on the morning of 23 June. The garden is open to the public and forms part of the Wild Atlantic Way and the Sheep’s Head Way walking routes, making it a fitting place to pause and remember while exploring this part of West Cork.