There was consternation at government level in June 1977 at the prospect of Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin, landing in Ireland on his way to "gatecrash" a Commonwealth summit in London.
The government ordered extra gardaí and troops to be drafted to all Irish airports after the cabinet decided that airport authorities should be instructed not to permit his aircraft to land, "except in case of emergency for refuelling".
In the event of the aircraft landing, the pilot would be "ordered to taxi to a remote part of the airport and informed that the government would not allow anyone to leave or join the plane".
Cabinet minutes for June 7th, made public by the National Archives, show that the government decided an "adequate army presence should be provided at the airports to enforce this decision, if necessary".
Previously confidential files from the Garda security department reveal that reinforcements under the command of an assistant commissioner were called in to man the three main airports for the "expected visit of General Amin".
A statement said the government had been alerted at the cabinet meeting that the dictator's aircraft was approaching Dublin airport. It added that "no notice had been given to the Irish authorities of General Amin's intention to come to this country".
The then minister for justice, Patrick Cooney, after consultations with the minister for foreign affairs, Garret FitzGerald, signed an exclusion order under the 1935 Aliens Act. The order prohibited "Idi Amin, a citizen of Uganda, and all other aliens accompanying him" from landing in or entering the State.
Uganda radio had apparently announced that Ireland was amongst possible stop-overs. Others included an Arab country, France and Germany. A year earlier, Britain had broken off diplomatic relations with his brutal regime.
Subsequently Amin, who was ridiculed as a clown and buffoon in the West, declared he had beaten the British and conferred upon himself the title of CBE (Conqueror of the British Empire). British prime minister Jim Callaghan had made clear he would not be welcome at the London summit.
However, for months Amin had let it be known he intended to travel and to bring a retinue of 250 people, including a dance troupe called "Heartbeat of Africa". He felt certain Queen Elizabeth "would be terribly disappointed" if he stayed away.
The prospect of his arrival here attracted a large media presence from Britain and other parts of Europe, who watched the skies all day. About 70 journalists and film crew apparently went on high alert in mid-afternoon when teenage plane spotters at Dublin airport told them they had monitored a "Uganda 345" call-sign on airline frequencies.
The bizarre day of Amin-alert at the airports dominated newspaper front pages with headlines like "Big Daddy laughs it up!", and "Amin's plane not among the UFOs" and "Amin still in Libya".
