KENNEDY TREATED TO TEA BY THIRD COUSIN IN IRELAND
Dunganstown, Ireland (JFK+50) On June 27, 1963, President John F. Kennedy "returned to the homestead of his Irish forefathers...and drank tea in the barnyard with cousins and their neighbors."
Thomas Reedy writes that Mary Ann Ryan, JFK's third cousin, "laid long tables for tea, cakes and pies to serve Cousin Jack."
The barnyard in which the tea was served is adjacent to the cottage in which Patrick Kennedy*, JFK's great grandfather, left when he came to America 120 years ago.
The President thanked Mrs. Ryan and "all the Kennedys who stayed..." He said,
"I promise we won't come back oftener than every ten years."
Later, in a speech at the port town of New Ross, JFK said...
"When my great-grandfather left here to become a cooper in East Boston, he carried nothing with him except two things--a strong religious faith and a strong desire for liberty. I am glad to say that all of his grandchildren have valued that inheritance."
JFK+50
Ironically, Patrick Kennedy died on NOVEMBER 22 (1858), 105 years before the death of his great grandson NOVEMBER 22 (1963). My own grandfather, Harris E. White, died on NOVEMBER 22 (1990).
*Patrick Kennedy (1823-1858) was born in Dunganstown, Ireland & became a farmer & cooper. PK was forced to move to America by the Irish famine. He arrived in Boston in 1848.
SOURCES
"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2011
"Kennedy Welcomed By Irish Relatives," by Thomas A. Reedy, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., June 27, 1963, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
