JFK SEES THE SUN GO DOWN ON GALWAY BAY
Galway, Ireland (JFK+50) On June 29, 1963, President John F. Kennedy traveled to Galway where he was greeted by more than 300 children from the Convent of Mercy School. The children, dressed in the Irish tricolors "formed up to create the impression of a large flag (of Ireland) laid out on the ground."
The children sang "Galway Bay" for JFK...
"If you ever go across the sea to Ireland
There maybe at the closing of your day
You will sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh
And see the sun go down on Galway Bay."
Later, speaking at EYRE SQUARE, now John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, JFK said:
"If the day was clear enough and if you went down to the bay and looked west and your sight was good enough, you would see Boston, Massachusetts."
The President, who was presented with "The Key to the City," added...
"If you ever come to America, come to Washington, and tell them if they wonder who you are at the gate that you come from Galway. The word will be out, and when you do, there will be a cead mile failte, which means in Gaelic 'a hundred thousand welcomes.'"
As JFK rode down SHOP STREET in Galway, he was greeted by thousands of admirers including Maura McSharry who later wrote...
"The President of the United States in Galway, in Shop Street, being driven slowly past our famous bookshop O'Gormans and I was there. He was dazzling with his broad Kennedy smile and deep tan. It was unbelievable, it still is.
He was happy, and so were the people of Galway. JFK wanted us to share in the glory of his Presidency. He felt safe and relaxed in our company and we were honoured by his presence.
It was a wonderful day. Not even the heartbreaking tragedy which befell him five months later could ever destroy the memories of the friendship he shared with us so generously during his unforgettable visit to Ireland."
SOURCES
"JFK HOMECOMING: President John F. Kennedy in Ireland, June 1963," National Library of Ireland, US Embassy in Dublin, JFK Library in Boston, National Archives and RTE Archives.
"One of Ourselves, JFK in Ireland" by James Robert Carroll (2003)
National Flag
& Map of Ireland
Charlotte Street Park
Charleston, S.C.
Photo by John White (2013)
