25 years on, it remains remarkable to think that Kerry Airport was once alleged to have had direct links to Osama bin Laden, someone so universally vilified.
Post the tragic 9/11 attacks, which caused the deaths of thousands of people in the USA, any link or connection to bin Laden, the mastermind behind these horrific atrocities, aroused public suspicion and revulsion and an ostracization from society.
This connection, which was false, came about after it was reported that Sheik Khalid bin Mahfouz, who became Kerry Airport's largest shareholder in the early 1990s, was a brother in law of bin Laden's, the Kerryman have reported.
Denis Brosnan, who was Kerry Group Chief Executive, had said in 1996 that the airport's development would not have been possible only for Mr bin Mahfouz's investment, which saw him invest £3 million towards the £14 million cost of the airport, which was said to have gone towards extending the runway.
This financing by Mr bin Mahfouz and the money raised in the county, meant that the board were also able to apply to the EU for the matching funds, with Mr Brosnan reportedly saying that the shareholder was also keen to invest another £9 million in the airport.
Reports had also stated that representatives of Mr bin Mahfouz were also negotiating with Shannon Development about investing £2 million in the Kerry Technology Park, creating an estimated 1,500 jobs by 2005, costing £12 million in total.
The bin Mahfouz family continued to hold shares in Kerry Airport following Khalid's passing in 2009. These shares were held under Glenmore Capital Limited, with Sammy Haress, a representative for the family, CEO and specialist in aviation, co-opted to the board of directors.
As it turned out, Mr bin Mahfouz was one of the wealthy foreign speculators who were involved in the citizenship arrangement with senior members of the Irish Government in the 1990s, which caused controversy.
These scheme, known as the passport scheme, or ‘passports for sale’ debacle, had linked Irish citizenship to major investment programmes, and required an investment of $1 million, allowing applicants to spend some time in Ireland.
Such applicants included Khalid bin Mahfouz and Khalid Sabih Masri, who had lent £1.1 million to a pet company which was associated with former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds.
A Dáil debate in 2004 had revealed that Mr Bin Mahfouz had previously made applications for citizenship on behalf of 10 members of his extended family, during a time when Charles Haughey was Taoiseach and controversial politician, Ray Burke served as Minister for Justice.
It was said that these applications were received by the Justice Department on 6 December 1990, without the applicants' signatures. They were returned to them that same day, and resubmitted, before allegedly being handed over to Mr bin Mahfouz by then Taoiseach Charles Haughey during a lunch meeting at the Shelbourne Hotel.
This was widely condemned, as a situation where wealthy people were seemingly obtaining passports as a reward for investing substantial amounts of money into Irish projects.
At this point, The Irish Independent reported that Paudge Connolly, Independent TD for Cavan-Monaghan, had told the Dáil in 2004, that there was not a major emphasis put on background checks, considering that Mr bin Mahfouz had been granted Irish citizenship for investing money, despite being a "brother in law of Osama bin Laden".
Mr bin Mahfouz was soon placed under scrutiny, following loud calls within the Dáil to revoke his citizenship. This scrutiny was relentless, given that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks were identified as Saudi nationals.
Mr bin Mahfouz was also accused of financially supporting bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime in his financial affaires.
Many TDs also claimed that if these alleged links between the billionaire and bin Laden were verified, then his initial £3 million investment ought to be refunded, the Government must pay compensation to cover the repayment.
There were also calls for an investigation into Mr bin Mahfouz's links with Kerry Airport, with the latter ultimately launching their own investigation into these allegations amid concerns about the Sheikh's rumoured connections to bin Laden.
Media outlets also chimed in, including The Washington Post and The New York Times accusing Mr bin Mahfouz of funding terrorism.
Later, the Mail on Sunday were ordered to pay Mr bin Mahfouz huge libel damages in 2004, money which he donated to UNICEF.
The Kerryman also referred bin Mahfouz's alleged connection to bin Laden in an article which was published on 30 December 2009, which led to them being contacted by his family seeking clarification over the reference.
The family stated that Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz, was never married to any of Osama bin Laden's sisters, and vice versa, bin Laden never married any of bin Mahfouz's sisters. They claimed this came about after former CIA director, James Woolsey had incorrectly named bin Mahfouz in connection with this allegation to a US congressional subcommittee.
Mr Woolsey said during a libel trial concerning the Wall Street Journal, that his evidence had "misidentified" Mr bin Mahfouz, and clarified that he was not the individual concerned.
The Kerryman revealed that the family had shared clarifications from several outlets on its website, making them available so they could set the record straight regarding Mr bin Mahfouz's reputation.
