I was watching this video on a vintage TV set for the first time in my life. The Visitor Centre at the Kennedy Homestead was reopened in June 2013, fifty years after the President John F. Kennedy’s visit to Ireland in June 1963, and this TV set and the tea cups belong to the era. A cup of tea, salmon sandwiches, and a huge cake – it is what his cousin Mrs. Ryan, with the help of her neighbors, cooked for the occasion. President Kennedy was accompanied by his sisters Eunice and Jean, and they met fifteen of their Irish cousins! In the picture below you see Patrick Grennan, Mrs. Ryan’s grandson. He is a curator of the Kennedy Homestead, the birthplace of their ancestor Patrick Kennedy, a great-grandfather of the President.
It was the second day of his four day tour when the President traveled by helicopter to Mary Ryan’s farm in Dunganstown, Co Wexford. He had been there before. In 1947, he came to Ireland to visit his sister Kathleen who was staying at Lismore Castle. Kennedy and the other guests borrowed a station wagon and went looking for his relatives in Dunganstown. That is how he met his third cousins for the first time. He said that his visit was ‘filled with magic’.
Patrick Kennedy emigrated in 1848 – being the third son, he had no chance of running the family farm. More than a century later, in his speech at the quay in New Ross from where his great grandfather left for America, JFK joked that if his great grandfather hadn’t emigrated, he himself might now be working for the Albatross fertilizer Company, or perhaps for John V. Kelly shop down the road.
The Kennedy Homestead museum has a unique collection of the Kennedy family’s artifacts including the rosary beads that was in the President John F. Kennedy’s pocket when he was assassinated in Dallas. Jacqueline Kennedy brought her children to visit and gave the rosary beads to Mary Ann, the late President’s cousin and Patrick Grennan’s aunt.
Exposition also includes documents, photographs, audio-visual display, and plenty of space to walk around and contemplate.
This dress is a replica of a simple linen dress Jacqueline Kennedy wore for her official White House portrait that was painted in 1970 by Aaron Shikler. The dress was made by the Irish designer Sybil Connolly.
The astronaut spacesuit is a replica of the spacesuit worn by John Glenn during project Mercury, the first US manned space program.
I was told that decorative rugs, like this one, were popular in the 1960s. The rug is a gift to the museum.
More artifacts and photographs.
‘I’ll be back in the springtime’ – these were the last words President Kennedy spoke before leaving. His ambition was to serve two terms as President and then appoint himself as Ambassador to Ireland. His sister Jean was to fulfill this ambition. She visited Kennedy Homestead as Ambassador on the 30th anniversary of his 1963 visit, in June 1993. Twenty years later, Caroline Kennedy, the President’s daughter, and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny opened this new Visitor Centre and Museum.
In 2004 I was in Kennedy Arboretum, and on the way back we stopped by the Homestead, but didn’t go in, so I just took some pictures from the road. The Arboretum is a unique place itself and some day I will go there again to write a blog post.
My personal connection with JFK? Definitely it is this picture with Patrick Grennan taken with assistance from two lovely ladies, Mary and Eimear…
… and my smooth landing at JFK airport a few days later 🙂
Just a word about another two famous Americans with Irish roots whose ancestors were not that lucky, and their names are fading away from the old gravestones in the littered and overgrown Clonmelsh graveyard, Ballyloo, Co Carlow.
Pierce Butler, one of the Founding Fathers, was born in Co Carlow, the 5th Baronet of Cloughgrenan, a younger son unable to inherit his family fortune. Butler joined the British Army and was sent to America, where eighteen years later he signed the American Constitution as a South Carolina’s representative to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
Many of his ancestors are lying here in Clonmelsh.
Walt Disney’s ancestors left Ireland to travel to New York in 1834, and now the Disney Corporation is worth billions. Three of his ancestors are buried in Clonmelsh graveyard, and the Council is cleaning rubbish in this ‘all star’ graveyard every six month just to keep it in presentable state.
There are many election-related blog posts published these days, some of them very hateful. I do care about this election, because it is a big deal globally, but I don’t see how a blog post that is spitting hate can actually help. So, I just want to finish with a quote I copied from Facebook. I do respect this man who has never forgotten his roots, who loved the land of his ancestors and left a legacy of identity to his children, and a legacy of hope for his country. Don’t get me wrong though. I know that John Fitzgerald Kennedy was just a man, as imperfect as a man can be, but do you realise that there is no perfect man who would come and clean up our mess. So, why not to listen to the words of this redhead President that make so much sense? He had inherited Cuba, Vietnam, and Civil Rights problems, something one cannot resolve overnight, but he had started working on that, and there was progress, there was improvement, one step at a time, and it is how it works. One tiny step at a time. Those who promise a quick solution, lie. Only step by step, without trying to fix the past, but with aspiration to build the future.
Thank you for reading!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Making memories 
VERY INFORMATIVE, thank you for sharing worthy knowledge about history
Thank you!
Nice bit of history. This post only shows how connected the world is – a US President with roots in Ireland, etc. I like the quote from the President in the last frame. Yes, Kennedy is not perfect but maybe, he did his best as a President.
Exactly, Imelda! If every president did their best for their country, we would be all blessed. Doesn’t happen though.
True. My bone with politics is that every person that runs is beholden to his party and the interests that support his/her candidacy. They can promise the moon and stars during the campaign but at the end of the day, they will have to weigh the cost of their promises against so many other considerations. Or maybe, I am just being too cynical.
You are not cynical. Well, regardless of politics most of us will wake up tomorrow and carry on with our life, and the sun will rise too 🙂
JFK had dark sides, but one must admit he had the right words…
(Or at least he had better speechwriters than now)
😉
No one country will ever get a perfect president, but he was on the right track at his relatively young age.
Oh yes. He, like Martin Luther King, had lots of dreams. And some came through. 🙂
Ah, lets hope for a better future.
Well, you know the saying: “Let’s hope for the best and prepare for the worst”. 🙂 (At least I understand Trump took a beating last night)
You know, for me they are equal. Never been a conspiracy theorist, but I have an impression that someone is experimenting with this country to see how much it can bear.
Possibly. Or it is just mankind’s stupidity surfacing. 70 years after the last mass slaughter, everybody has forgotten. I hope your daughter is better, and that you get lots of videos of the new baby. 🙂
Yes, I hope they are all right 🙂 We chat once a week, I don’t want to put a pressure on a busy mother 🙂
Yeah, I know what you mean. Children don’t always realize that parents will always worry about them. 🙂
Ah I don’t want to be selfish. She has three young children to care for, why would I seek attention if I cannot even help.
🙂
Thanks!
Glad you like the post!
This is great! I didn’t know that JFK felt any link with his Irish ancestry – I thought he’d gone full American 🙂
Thank you for reading! Isn’t it nice that they all teach their children about their ancestry. Not everybody does.
Hey Inese – I agree about the peaceful approach to politics – whew – and had no idea Kennedy was a redhead either!
and guess what _ i have a good amount of irish in me as well – like 30 to 35%
cheers to that!
Oh, congratulations on being so Irish! 🙂
Kennedy’s hair had that golden ginger shade 🙂 We have seen him mostly in b&w though.
My approach to politics is not exactly peaceful. I would never vote for a person, but rather for my own perspectives, my own future. Common sense says me that ‘republican’ and ‘democratic’ are just labels, and neither of them is exactly my cup of tea. Two very rich people are fighting for power right now. For me personally they are equal in their future impact on my life – both positive and negative. I wouldn’t be the one to hate any of these two. Or love, for that matter 🙂
I hate those labels and it is time for a change in politics and in the way we do church – but do not even want to go there on that either – but both entities seem stuck in many decades past. and not that old is always bad (that would be chronological snobbery, eh?)
but sometimes inefficient and off is what needs to be repaired.
Absolutely.
Wow! That’s quite a bit of history packed in one post! What I find truly remarkable is strange the twist and turns life takes. I was reading a post on Randall’s blog alluding to a similar flow of thought and you mentioned, “JFK joked that if his great grandfather hadn’t emigrated, he himself might now be working for the Albatross fertilizer Company, or perhaps for John V. Kelly shop down the road.” Fantastic! Makes me more at ease at the twists in my life and there’s no saying where they will lead me. 🙂
But isn’t it true? We have no idea where our choices can take us 🙂
The Homestead museum is amazing. Patrick and the members of staff Mary and Eimear are the nicest people ever. I think it is a special place to visit in Ireland, and it is so easy to get there. People who come to Waterford to see the crystal museum, must rent a car and make a 30- 40 min trip to the JFK Homestead. If they are lucky they will get a picture with a Kennedy family member – a great souvenir 🙂
Beautiful writing and photos. History not rememberessential is doomed to be repeated. I remember the day he died it was unlike anything I had experienced in my young life until 9/11 . Every person I saw from teachers to my mother ever person on the street was bawling not crying heaving. I was in 4th grade. And we had been getting under desks everyday and what films of nuclear war and skeletons and everything disintegrated . So when every single stranger and bus driver people driving cars I just knew we were Bouton to get nuclear weapons on my head any moment I thought I would die. Out teacher had us get up and say pledge of allegiance and it was one of the scariest days on my 60 plus years.
Absolutely agree with you about 9/11. I feel the same. It was the first really scary experience for all of us who were born after the war. We had a civil defense class and studied everything about surviving a nuclear attack. Scary times.
The whole time they knew we would die should have kept it to themselves. Then we go home pray now I lay me down to sleep Ifor I should die before I wake pray the Lord my soul my soul to take,. Then when the wind blows the cradle will fall ,down will come baby cradle and all. Is there any way we could not have mental issues lol
I took my mom to see Pearl Harbor the movie . I thought since she was little when it happened she might like it . After it was over I asked what she thought of it she looked at me and said “I lived it” now I know how she feels. I tried to watch a movie about 9/11 I could not watch it. Walked out now I know what mom felt.
It was probably the reason why my father wasn’t able to watch any movies about the WW2.
That is exacting why. Men didn’t fight unseen terrorist that blow up cowardly with pressure cookers . Then it was hand to hand combat. Seeing your friends shot next to him and shooting tell enemy looking in his eyes. It was a different time but all war is ugly and men and women who serve deserve the utmost respect. Your father was a hero.
Thank you! Respect they deserve.
I really admired JFK, loved him from afar as the one who was in war, on the PT 109, as a candidate and the our President. I never understood how much pain he endured nor the prejudice against his being Catholic, until I was older.
Thank you for sharing more about his life, the Kennedy’s “Irish roots.” It was such an informative post, Inese. xo
Thank you for reading, Robin! Yes, many people don’t want a president with a certain religion attached to his/her name. I wish they rather cared of his/her abilities.
This was tough and yet proved how to overcome obstacles. Sad the ending of his story wasn’t a better one. John F. Kennedy’s legacy lives on, though. Fabulous post with so much I didn’t realize about his visits and family ties.
Thank you, Robin!
I would rather have a president with a religious belief than what Trump is spouting any day of the week. There is so much hate I tell world. It is so disheartening. 😥
This is stunning for me ~ I never realized this story and how he was so gripped by Ireland (and vice-versa). Such a timely post as well, as the strength he had politically was so unique and so rare…look at the world today and it is apparent. You do a great job with the photos ~ Perhaps the most beautiful part of your post, is the look at the old, worn headstones…the roots of Ireland run deep all over this world, perhaps none deeper than in the USA.
Thank you so much! The old graveyard in the middle of nowhere speaks volumes. Town council struggles to keep in a presentable state the resting place of the ancestors of American billionaires! Not every Irish-American family honor their roots like the Kennedys do. “Respect” is a big thing. Most of people move around the world, and respect nothing.
Very true. It is strange how in the USA, the first generation of children became very far removed from their heritage. My parents were clueless about why/how my grandparents came to the ‘New World’ and much of it is the culture of “today and tomorrow” which I do admire…but boy, the value of the past is something to revel in, understand and set a great creative foundation for the future. Both my Mom and Dad are asking me about our family tree and ancestors, and how I wish I could sit down with my grandparents and learn even more…
Oh how well I understand you. How many questions I have to my parents and grandparents. But never underestimate your other relatives 🙂 I have learned so much from the most unexpected sources, like half-sisters and step-children. There are many resources available online, it just takes a huge amount of time to do the research, but I know people who tracked their roots to the Middle ages.
Ha, ha ~ this happened with me! My Dad received a call from a distant cousin with all these questions and he had her contact me. She had traced my father’s line back to the mid 1600s in Essex 🙂 Loved it!!!
I loved the article living life to the fullest. I think living life to the fullest is just being happy . Finding the love of your love and just enjoying that person until the day you die. I think the bigger thing that makes you happy is being saved and learning and growing in the Lord . That is when my life changed for the best. It opened my eyes to all the giftsame I am given. A home , some I love that is my best friend and love of my life. Sone one to go to services with and hold my hand through life. That is really all you need love , love for yourself first that is the hardest unless your a super model and I am sure they have things they don’t like about themselves . But no one can fill you up you have to do that . Then a person you love just builds on it . Then join the love for God . I was out in the world 30 years and did everything I could get into and then some. I thought I was happy but I was really looking for someone to love me and realized I was running from the love of God. I used to have more money than I come spend and was miserable I was just someone to work behind a couple to make my spouse more money a free employee. When I met my current spouse I have l learned to love myself and have had my partner prove a million times that I can count on love , on God on being happy and more money will not make you happy. More faith move love for your spouse and family makes you happy.
Thank you for loving the article. I can only tell that I agree with you. Relationships with other people are the most valuable possessions we acquire during our life.
Absolutely
Lucky you! 🙂 I have to dig hard to get all the bits and pieces.
What a brilliant post….thank you so much for sharing this. Like anyone of our vintage, I remember clearly where I was when the announcement of Kennedy’s death was made….I was with my Mother in Kent….In 1966 just a couple of years later, I went to the USA to visit for two years and stayed for twenty eight and so became very familiar with the Kennedy clan. The history of Ireland is positively amazing, and of course so interconnected with the USA. I love the final quote by JFK….so poignant and so true…it should be emblazoned everywhere today. janet. xx
Thank you so much, Janet. People forget that everything has to makes sense, to start with. We are not voting for a party, we are voting for the course our life will take after the elections. Our life, not the life of our future president. Unfortunately people are so taken away with the media interpretation of everything that they forget about their own better judgment. xx
I do agree….so many people rely on ‘soundbites’ for their information today..and of course this can be so misleading…to say the least. Have a lovely day and week ahead…janet. xx
Have a lovely week! xx
Kennedy’s assassination was one of the first shock-horror pieces of news I remember hearing my parents discuss in my early childhood — that, and the Cuban missile crisis. Only the Irish would have so many cousins! I haven’t got any cousins, as far as I know.
Yes, exactly, one of the first shocking news in our life. The life isn’t safe – it hit me and it was a scary realisation.
I would say those were his third cousins. They shared the same great grandfather. Check your family tree, your second and third cousins should be somewhere 🙂
Yes, further back I know that two generations of first cousins married!
It used to be very common. My classmate married her first cousin.
Thank you for a great blog!
Thank you so much, Penney!
Reblogged this on KCJones.
Thank you so much for the reblog!
Brilliant post, Inese! And I agree: there´s no sense in hateful blog posts because of the upcoming elections.
Your pictures are as always wonderful and I shared your post with my mom who vividly remembers having seen and heard JFK saying: “Ich bin ein Berliner!” such a long time ago 😉 xxxxxx
Yes, he was loved in Europe. My mom and I were crying when he was killed. I wish we know the truth one day. Not for curiosity’s sake, but to honor him, and to have an idea how the assassination has changed the world.
I also wish for that, it seems so unfair to him and his political heritage to be left in the dark about the whole affair.
Another 50 years… it will come out.
I agree! I love the mix of present and past in this particular post–maybe it’s because you’re in a museum, doing a touch of study. Or it could be that I’m behind, and I’m just excited because I have ANOTHER post of yours to open… 😉
Thank you Jean! This election thing is getting ugly so a trip to museum gave me a gulp of fresh air 🙂
Great post, Inese! I had no idea Kennedy was a redhead! When I think about him, I see black and white images from the past! Proud to say 1/2 my ancestry is Irish! The Arboretum is fabulous! Looking forward to your next visit there! _Resa (from my Art Gowns blog)
Resa, it is amazing you are half Irish! This alone is your connection with President Kennedy. I will definitely visit the Arboretum as soon as I settle down after my long absence. Haven’t been there so many years, and look forward to walking the beautiful alleys and seeing fine trees. Also, there was a street art festival I missed, so I will walk around the town and take pictures of the paintings and installments I can find. Thank you again for your visit!
A lovely post, Inese, with such a positive and gentle call for reason and cooperation. Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much for stopping by! Just though I have to write something election-ish 🙂
I’m avoiding being electiony. You did a great job 🙂
Just couldn’t resist.