AER LINGUS has ended its 33 year role as sponsor of the annual Young Scientist Exhibition, handing over to Esat Telecom. The only question left unanswered at yesterday's announcement in Dublin was whether the party was a wake or a celebration.
Pyrotechnics, flashing lights and billows of red smoke, discharged to a compelling musical beat, marked the end of the airline's association with the exhibition, which it began in 1965.
Things were different then, said Mr Bernie Cahill, the Aer Lingus chairman. Sean Lemass was Taoiseach, on hand to meet the winners. And forget your Esat mobile, an ordinary black rotary phone was a treasured commodity in those days.
But even as Mr Cahill and the Esat chairman, Mr Denis O'Brien, wafted the red smoke out of the way and talked up the transfer in the presence of the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Dukes, Aer Lingus staff long associated with the exhibition were lamenting its end.
It was tough going - like the annual trip to the dentist - but once it was under way it was as familiar as a comfortable old pair of shoes. It was this very familiarity which meant that the company's association with the event had to end, as all good things must.
"The answer is very simple", Mr Cahill said. "There comes a time in the life of any sponsorship when both the event and the sponsor have gained the maximum benefit from the relationship."
An Aer Lingus spokesman was quick to dispel any suggestion that the company's disengagement might have been driven by budgetary considerations. The decision had resulted from a decision to revamp the company's sponsorship portfolio.
There was much mutual corporate admiration as the two chairmen complimented each other's companies. Praise was also voiced by the Minister, who hoped the newly named Esat Telecom Young Scientist Exhibition would run for another 33 years.
Any students now studying insect life cycles or preparing drawings of foreshore seaweeds can rest assured that their projects will be on display under a new corporate banner next January, when the 34th exhibition takes place.
