Growing up as a young man in Boston Jack Kennedy was very aware of his Irish roots. His grandfather, the Mayor of Boston, Michael ‘Honey Fitz’ Fitzgerald was an old style Irish politician given to the backroom politics of the ward system. Grandfather and Grandson formed a deep bond that would provide Jack with a fulfilling relationship at a time when both of his parents were absent from the home over extended periods. Honey Fitz regaled his grandson with stories of the famine and the coffin ships, of poor Irish emigrants arriving at the docks in Boston to find their struggles were just beginning as they faced deep prejudice and signs that clearly stated ‘Irish need not apply’. Young Jack was fascinated by these stories of old Eire and listened attentively to both his of his grandfathers for his paternal grandfather PJ Kennedy, also the son of an Irish emigrant had become a successful saloonkeeper and politician in his own right. Both men instilled in their grandson a feeling of great pride in his ancestry.

When his father, Joe Kennedy was appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James in London it was a prestigious appointment and one gained him much notoriety. As the first Irishman ever to be appointed to London, the Kennedy family became an overnight sensation as countless articles were published about this handsome and exciting family. For Jack it was to be the start of a love affair with England. Already an avid reader, he soon became enamoured with the works of Byron, Keats and Shelly while his growing admiration for Winston Churchill provided him with an object of fascination. Adopting many of the mannerisms of his young English peers, he soon became something of an Anglophile, taking to life in London with enthusiasm and excitement.

Although he never lost sight of his heritage and despite his fascination with England and its customs and history Jack remained interested in his Irish connections. As a young man, he visited Ireland for a brief stay with his sister Kathleen and was determined to trace his roots. Accompanied by an English friend Pamela Churchill, he set off to County Wexford, the home of his Irish relations and while she found the journey tedious and the Irish countryside far less developed than London, Jack was immediately fascinated, feeling an almost instant connection with this beautiful and often impoverished land. Travelling to New Ross in Wexford, he visited the site of his ancestral home, meeting some of his distant relatives. The rural setting of the family homestead enchanted him and in his mind, he imagined the scene as his Great Grandfathers departed the home and land they loved as they embarked on a new course, determined to create a better life in the United States.

Jack had always surrounded himself with young men of Irish background. Because of his identification with his Irish ancestry, men such as Dave Powers and Paul Fay or ‘The Irish Murphia’ as Jackie was wont to call them provided loyal and undemanding friendship and a shared pride in their ancestry that formed a unique bond.

His deep and abiding love of history and his respect for courage and honour had given him a deep insight into the deprivation and poverty visited on the Irish people from the time of the famine and long after. His admiration for the courage and determination of the Irish people who had left their families and homes behind them and embarked on a long and often tortuous journey as they attempted to live and work in a country light years away from their loved ones. They had disembarked from ‘coffin’ ships with little more than the clothes on their back and worked on criminally low wages in a determined effort to send money home to Ireland to feed and clothe their families.

The Irish were a proud and determined people and these characteristics ran through the soul of his own family from his Father right through to his youngest brother. Aware of the immense sacrifice that these courageous emigrants made working up to twenty hours for minimum wage in conditions that were deplorable his admiration and interest only deepened.

As President of The United States, Jack would come to feel the Irish connection even more personally. Travelling to Ireland in June of 1963 he felt the wave of emotion sweep over him as he was greeted by thousands of Irish people determined to witness for themselves the remarkable young and handsome Irish Catholic President who could trace his maternal and paternal roots to Irish shores. His interest in Irish history increased as he read voraciously, consumed with the events of the Famine and the 1916 uprising as proud Irish men fought valiantly to free their beloved country from British Rule. His love of Irish writers and poets grew as he developed a deep passion for the work of W.B. Yeats.

Irish people old enough to remember can still recall the emotion that surrounded that visit in 1963. For Irish people everywhere the visit of President John F. Kennedy signified hope. At a time of great depression, thousands of young people left hoping to create new lives in the United States, many of whom would never return see their parents or siblings again.

Jack Kennedy’s story gave optimism to a country that was still experiencing bitter hardship. As they watched the handsome young President return ‘home’, they could scarcely believe that in a few short generations an Irishman had left his home country and produced a descendant that would become one of the most popular Presidents in the history of the United States.

It was an emotional visit as people wept openly as Jack Kennedy passed amongst them, smiling and waving to the crowds from his Lincoln convertible. Arriving by helicopter from Dublin, Jack stood on the wharf in New Ross and spoke to the crowds.

Pointing at a nearby fertilizer plant he told them that had his great grandfather not left Wexford, he himself could be working at the plant today.

This statement was greeted with rapturous applause and laughter as they realised and appreciated the honesty and significance of his words.

Later Jack travelled to the Kennedy ancestral home in Dunganstown, New Ross, Co. Wexford where local children singing folk songs and performing Irish dancing entertained him. Standing in the kitchen of the little thatched cottage with it’s bare stone floor and welcoming turf fire he chatted easily with his third cousin Mary Kennedy Ryan and her daughters Mary Anne and Josephine. Drinking tea and eating scones with homemade butter, he chatted easily with the people around him, his delight in his surroundings evident to all present. When the time came for him to leave, he was unusually demonstrative in his embrace of his cousin. It was clear that the visit had affected him deeply on a very personal, emotional level as he witnessed the hardships and loneliness endured by these people, appreciating his roots, and yet appreciative of the gifts he had been given despite his family’s humble origins.

Never a man given to emotional displays, this visit was indeed different for Jack. Throughout his time in Ireland, he collected memorabilia of his visit including photographs of the Kennedy home, the silver goblet that had been presented to him in New Ross and even a place card from his State dinner with President Eamon De Valera that he had scribbled an Irish Poem on.

In June of 1963, no one could predict the awful events of November and as Jack Kennedy won Irish hearts, he symbolised the fulfilment of an impossible dream. The impact he made in the hearts of Irish people everywhere was immense and never to be replicated.

Even today in 2004, in the homes of many Irish people hangs a faded photograph of the slain President who left Shannon airport stating; ‘This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection and I certainly will come back in the springtime’.

Sadly, he would never return but he was deeply enriched by the visit and in the months following his visit to Ireland he played the tapes of the visit over and over, re-telling the stories and anecdotes that had touched him on such a personal level.

In those short months, he openly celebrated his Irish heritage, singing Irish ballads with his brothers Teddy and Bobby or with his friends Fay and Powers at White House soirees. His treasured silver goblet remained on his desk from his return until his death, serving to remind him of those three golden days in Ireland.

In the aftermath of his death Jackie commented on the visit to Ireland with these words:

‘It wasn’t just a sentimental journey. Ireland meant much more, he had always been moved by it’s poetry and literature because it told of the tragedy and desperate courage which he knew lay just under the surface of Irish life. The people of Ireland had faced famine and disease, and had fought oppression and died for independence. They dreamed and sand and wrote and thought and were gay in the face of all their burdens.’

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the embodiment of Irish spirit, heart and courage. His life taught Irish people everywhere that there is no such thing as an impossible dream and that all goals can be achieved if you are prepared to work hard and put in the effort.

Jack Kennedy was not just President of the United States; he represented the Irish people during the thousand days of his Presidency and far beyond. Such was the outpouring of grief at his death that you could be forgiven for thinking he had governed the Ireland also as unashamed tears were shed throughout the country for the brave young President. Such was the impact of his death that the moment of his assassination is frozen in time for those old enough to remember. The feelings of loss and sadness similar to those felt in a family bereavement so great was their admiration of their Irish son. John F. Kennedy has taken his place beside heroes such as Michael Collins, Padraic Pearse, James Connolly, Eamonn Ceannt, Sean Mac Diarmada and Thomas Clarke. He is as revered as the men who laid their lives down to free the country they loved enough to die for. He has been honoured and respected because he instilled a deep sense of pride as he achieved the ultimate in his short political life and truly became a hero of the times, his flaws and failings adding to deepen the fascination with his life and untimely death.