Ryanair’s latest problem: a fowl-themed ancient holy well

IT HAS been a difficult year at Ryanair and some even say that Michael O’Leary’s goose is almost cooked at the airline.

But planning documents reveal that the Westmeath mega-aviator just may have an unexpected but powerful force on his side to ensure that — should such an intervention ever be required — the supposedly flagging fowl of his Ryanair stewardship could quickly be restored to full health and life.

The airline is currently working its way through the Fingal planning system in its bid to build a 10,000 square metre, six-storey extension next to its headquarters at Airside in Swords. New documents filed by the planning authority show that the airline controls more than just airplanes, pilots and a fancy website: it also has its very own holy well.

The centuries -old well — hidden discreetly in a hedge behind the airline’s HQ — is devoted to a Saxon princess called St Werburgh. The saint was best known for her amazing ability to bring dead geese back to life. However, O’Leary — and those in Ryanair he has tasked with building the new extension — will likely be more concerned with Werburgh’s impact on their building plans after Fingal County Council requested the airline provides a management and access plan for the well.

The planners also wrote to the airline requesting “softer/greener” measures, for example, Stockholm-type integrated tree pits and ponds. O’Leary’s famously softer and gentler persona notwithstanding, the receipt of that request no doubt led to loud prayers and exclamations to Werburgh and other holy icons.