An Irishman is leading a campaign to further immortalise the name of Elvis Aaron Presley forever - by naming an airport after the legendary singer.
Dubliner Maurice Colgan, who describes himself as Ireland's biggest Elvis fan is lobbying to have Memphis airport renamed to honour 'The King'.
The 59-year-old, who has been a fan of the singer since first hearing his records in 1957, wants Memphis airport, near where Elvis's home Graceland is, named after the singer.
Maurice launched his campaign after learning that Liverpool's airport was renamed after Beatle legend John Lennon.
Mr Colgan, who retired to Swords after spending much of his adult life in Manchester, said yesterday: "When I discovered that Liverpool had named its airport in honour of John Lennon, I thought it was only fitting that Memphis ought to do the same for Elvis.
"Memphis is also continuing to benefit from the fact that Elvis lived there. Around 700,000 people still visit Graceland every year and there are loads of Elvis memorabilia shops in the place. It's about time they gave Elvis recognition for all he's done for them," he said.
Mr Colgan has lobbied Tennessee's leading politicians and is in contact with management at Memphis airport. He's even come up with a politically correct solution to possible objections.
"I thought that if the airport was renamed 'King Airport' it would keep everybody happy. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis and BB King was a famous Blues singer and, of course, Elvis is 'The King'. So people can take from the name 'King' what they will.
"It's a million-to-one chance that the airport will be renamed, but we've gotten a lot of publicity and we're having great fun."
Mr Colgan, and his wife Maureen, have a special reason for wanting to pay tribute to Elvis.
The couple, who married as teenagers, received kind messages from the singer when Maureen was seriously ill during her second pregnancy in 1961.
Mr Colgan said: "Maureen was in hospital suffering from kidney failure and I was very down and depressed after visiting her. I decided to write to Elvis, and it was lovely that he took the time to write back to us at a time when we both needed a boost."
Beatles fans who travel to England next year will have the option of avoiding London and instead touching down at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
And an Elvis fan who hopes to visit Memphis next year hopes he can have a comparable experience.
"With next year being the 25th anniversary of Elvis' death, Elvis fans on the Internet have been getting together to see what we can do to honor the guy," says Maurice Colgan, of Swords, Ireland, who is leading a letter-writing campaign to have Memphis International Airport renamed for The King.
Targeted for letters are Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, Shelby County Mayor Jim Rout and Gov. Don Sundquist.
"We understand the politics in Memphis, and so we think it could just be called King Airport, so it's also for Martin Luther King Jr. and BB King," Colgan says.
Colgan's a retired sales rep for Electrolux vacuum cleaners, who's now an amateur artist and performs volunteer work at a local rehabilitation center. On free time Colgan and his wife enjoy collecting Elvis memorabilia and trading stories with other fans around the world.
The Colgan collection has two personal letters from The King from 1961. Colgan wrote to Elvis saying that a note from him would bring great happiness to his wife, Maureen, who was in the hospital at the time. Elvis wrote her, and then also sent a note to Colgan to cheer him up.
"We kept the story of the letters to ourselves until 1997," Colgan says.
It was a good enough story to win the couple a free, four-day trip to Memphis from an Irish radio station, so they could be in town for the 20th anniversary of Dead Elvis Week. The couple won another contest and returned in 1999, visiting with Elvis scholars at Ole Miss.
The Colgans were armed with cash but found they couldn't rent a car in Memphis for the trip because they lack a major credit card, and so had to pay a taxi driver $170 to get to Oxford.
Along with renaming the airport, Colgan says his fans are also starting a letter campaign to have the University of Memphis award a posthumous degree to Elvis.
"We're asking for an honorary degree in relation to the fact that Elvis was an exceptionally great singer, and his fame has done some great things for Memphis and the world," he says. "We hope this will all happen in time for next year's celebrations."
