The Mayfly became the first powered biplane to fly in Ireland, piloted by its own designer and builder, Lilian Bland.
Lilian Bland's aircraft, the Mayfly, is credited as the first powered biplane in Ireland, achieving flight at Randalstown, County Antrim, on 31 August 1910. This was a landmark not only for Bland personally but for the technological history of the island of Ireland, marking the arrival of powered heavier-than-air flight in the region only a handful of years after the Wright brothers' pioneering flights in the United States.
The Mayfly was a biplane glider design that Bland modified to accept a small petrol engine, reportedly a two-cylinder engine of around 20 horsepower, sourced from a motorcycle engine manufacturer in England. She constructed much of the airframe herself from spruce and bamboo, with fabric-covered wings, and famously used a whiskey bottle in the improvised fuel-feed system after her father, concerned for her safety, initially withheld funds for a proper carburettor.
The successful powered flight of this aircraft represented a significant technical achievement for the era, requiring Bland to master not just piloting skills but also aerodynamics, structural engineering, and mechanical improvisation — all largely self-taught. It remains a landmark in the history of Irish aviation and is commemorated in museums and heritage organizations across Northern Ireland.