Stamp of approval marks Kennedy’s 1963 visit

An Post has taken a trip down memory lane and issued two stamps to mark the 50th anniversary of US president John F Kennedy’s visit to Ireland.

The 60c stamp shows a photograph of President Kennedy being served tea by his cousin’s daughter, the later Mary Ann Ryan, in Dunganstown, just outside New Ross, Co Wexford.

The 90c stamp shows a photograph of president Kennedy and former taoiseach Sean Lemass laying a wreath at Arbour Hill in Dublin.

Also pictured with President Kennedy and Mr Lemass is the then Commandant P J Daly, now aged 93, who went on to become brigadier general of the Defence Forces.

Brig Gen Daly joined Jim Grennan, a cousin of the Kennedys, yesterday to unveil the stamps at New Ross Town Council, Co Wexford.

Cathaoirleach of New Ross Town Council, Cllr Paul Crowdle, said the stamp launch was part of this year’s special JFK 50 programme of events and reinforces the close links between New Ross and the Kennedy family.

An Post director of communications and corporate affairs, Barney Whelan, said there was significant national and international interests in the new stamps.

“As they travel on letters and parcels and take their place in treasured stamp collections across the globe, they loudly proclaim Ireland’s enduring respect and fondness for John F Kennedy, his historic visit and its significance for Irish people in the US and at home,” he said.

President Kennedy visited Ireland from Jun 26 to 29 1963 and, in Dublin alone, half of the city’s population thronged the city centre in an attempt to catch a glimpse of him.

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 30,00 on Jun 27, the day, he visited the Kennedy Family’s ancestral home in Dunganstown.

Last month, a website and social media campaign was launched to allow people to share stories, photos, mementoes and thoughts on the 1963 visit as part of the JFK Homecoming Memory Project.

It offers people the opportunity to upload videos, photos and accounts of their memories of the visit.

It will feed into an exhibition in the National Library from Jun 20, which is to be opened by a member of the Kennedy family.

* The new stamps, designed by Steve Simpson, at 60c and 90c, are the new postal charges that came into effect in April.

A stamp for a standard domestic letter costs 60c, an increase of 5c, while the international rate for a standard letter has increased from 82c to 90c.

www.jfkhomecoming