THE LAST TIME JFK WOULD EVER SEE HOME

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 1993

PRESIDENT KENNEDY VISITED IRELAND 53 YEARS AGO TODAY

Dublin, Ireland (JFK+50) John F. Kennedy, the first Irish-American President of the United States, landed here in Dublin fifty-three years ago last evening, June 26, 1963, becoming the first American president to visit the country during his term of office.

The President was greeted by Eamon de Valera, President of Ireland, and welcomed by Irish children waving American flags and singing his favorite Irish tunes.

Ryan Tubridy writes...

"The two Presidents made their way...for the brief journey from Dublin airport across the city to Phoenix Park, home of both the Irish President and the American Ambassador to Ireland.

The crowds were enormous and excited.  On...O'Connell Street, between 60,000 and 80,000 people showed up to welcome the President."

On the morning of June 27, President Kennedy visited Wexford and New Ross.
In his speech on the Quay, 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 great grandchildren have valued that inheritance." 

The President then made a short drive to Dunganstown to visit the farm once owned by his great great grandfather, Patrick Kennedy.  JFK was greeted by his hostess and third cousin, Mary Ryan, who was accompanied by about 25 relatives.

After the visit, President Kennedy "...kissed his cousin on the check, patted her clasped hands and said goodbye.  It was the last time he would ever see her; the last time he would ever see home."

 SOURCES

"JFK In Ireland, Four Days That Changed a President," by Ryan Tubridy, Lyons Press, Guilford, Connecticut, 2011.

"One of Ourselves: JFK in Ireland" by James Robert Carroll, Images from the Past, Inc., Bennington, Vermont, 2003.

JFK Greets Irish School Children

JFK Library Photo

                     

JFK CUT DOWN TO SIZE

EAMON DE VALERA DIED 40 YEARS AGO TODAY

Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland (JFK+50) Forty years ago today, August 29, 1975,  Eamon de Valera,* President of Ireland from 1959 to 1973 and head of the government of the Irish Free State, died at the age of 92.

President John F. Kennedy, the first American president of Irish descent, visited Ireland in June 1963.  President de Valera welcomed him in both English and Irish languages, but according to John Spain, JFK would later include a comment in his speech to the Dail (the Irish Parliament), that was taken as an insult by de Valera.

Smith refers to Ryan Tubridy's research for his book "JFK in Ireland" in which Tubridy learned that the JFK comment was not appreciated by de Valera.

In his speech, President Kennedy made reference to Lord Edward FitzGerald, who once occupied Leinster House** and in a letter to his mother had written...
"Leinster House does not inspire the brightest ideas."  Although JFK added "that was a long time ago, however," Mr. de Valera was displeased.

The Irish president was later overheard saying to President Kennedy that he had "done no service to Irish politicians by this quotation."  Ryan Tubridy was surprised to learn that de Valera had the offensive line removed from "all published versions of the speech."

*Eamon de Valera (1882-1975) was born to a Spanish father & Irish mother in New York City.  When his father died when Eamon was 2 years old, his mother returned with him to Ireland.

EdV graduated from Blackrock College & became a math professor.  He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913 and served in the uprising of 1916.  EdV was first elected as president of Ireland in 1917 after having been released from prison.

**Leinster House, located in Dublin was completed in 1748 and since 1922 served as the parliament building of the Irish Free State.  It was formerly ducal residence of the Duke of Leinster.  The building was also the HQ of the Royal Dublin Society (1815-1922).

The 1st & 2nd floors of LH were used as models for the interior of the White House and the exterior used as a model for the White House exterior.  The White House was designed by Irish-American architect James Hoban.

Leinster House, 1914

Dublin, Ireland

SOURCES

"Eamon De Valera (1882-1975)," Clare County Library, www.clarelibrary.ie/

"President Greets President, 1963," RTE Archives, www.rte.ie/

"The Boy is Back in Town:  De Valera and Fianna Fail's electoral victory in 1932," by Jason Myers, The Ultimate History Project, www.ultimatehistoryproject.com/

"The day the Long Fella cut legendary JFK down to size," by John Spain, Entertainment Books, October 23, 2010, www.independent.ie/