A council in the Republic has formally asked an airport to retrain staff to make Irish coffees.

Clare County Council has written to Shannon Airport Authority asking them to ensure bar staff are the cream of the crop when it comes to making the famous traditional cocktail.

The request comes after complaints about the general quality of Irish coffees at the airport.

These prompted Fianna Fail councillor Pat McMahon to ask the council to bring the complaints to the attention of the airport. People living in the region take their Irish coffees seriously, he said.

In fact the bar at Shannon Airport is named after Joe Sheridan — the man who invented the Irish coffee in 1942. A plaque at the bar commemorates his role.

The chef originally worked in Foynes, Co Limerick, where he came up with the idea of mixing hot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar, stirred, and topped with thick cream.

He starting trying out his now-famous cocktail on customers in Shannon Airport where he went to work after it opened.

But it appears Sheridan's proud heritage is now under threat from slipping standards at the airport.

“Basically there is a lot of new staff working there. Some of them come from across the world and would not be aware of the heritage or tradition of Irish coffees. It wasn't like this before and something should be done about it,” Mr McMahon said.

He insisted his motion to ask management to upskill their catering staff was “not flippant”.

“The Joe Sheridan bar is for passengers only and often there would be US troops returning home or other people in transit having an Irish coffee. I have seen it myself. They should be ensured of good quality.”

An airport spokeswoman confirmed it was “aware of Mr McMahon's concerns on the issue”.

She added: “The matter has been addressed with the company offering the service at Shannon.”