Public memories sought to mark 50th anniversary of JFK visit

The public is being urged to take a trip down memory lane to mark the 50th anniversary of US president John F Kennedy’s visit to Ireland.

Stories, photos, mementoes, and thoughts on the 1963 visit are being sought as part of the JFK Homecoming Memory Project.

Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, said the social media campaign, website and an exhibition at the National Library of Ireland are a fitting way to commemorate the trip.

“President Kennedy had a close personal connection to Ireland,” he said. “His visit had an extraordinary impact on Ireland, and many people here felt a strong affinity with and warmth for President Kennedy.

“Kennedy himself referred to Ireland as ‘not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the most affection’.

“This website and social media campaign allows people to share their experiences from this historic time and to relive the historic visit.”

Kennedy visited Ireland from June 26 to 29, 1963.

In Dublin alone, half of the city’s population thronged the city centre in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the US president.

Elsewhere, 100,000 people travelled to see him in the cities of Cork, Limerick and Galway, while in Wexford, the town’s 12,000-strong population swelled to 30,000 on June 27, the day he visited the Kennedy family’s ancestral home in Dunganstown.

Members of the public who remember the visit are asked to submit their memories to the website or to visit the library.

Contributions will form part a multimedia exhibition, JFK: Homecoming, which will run from Jun 20 to Aug 13.

A number of famous faces also feature on a video tribute to the anniversary, including Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Sharon Corr, Jamie Heaslip, Roddy Doyle, Robert Sheehan, Jim Sheridan, Laura Whitmore, Moya Doherty, and Mark Pollock.

*www.jfkhomecoming.com