merrion street

Plans for a year of events to celebrate the historic visit of President John F Kennedy to his hometown of New Ross, County Wexford were unveiled today  at Government buildings by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Unveiling the 2013 JFK 50 Programme of Events, the Taoiseach said:

President John F Kennedy's visit to his ancestral home in 1963 was a watershed event in recent Irish history.  It remains one of the most significant visits by a Head of State to Ireland and has had a lasting effect which resonated in the visit of President Obama and is recalled every year on our St Patrick's Day visits to the States.  I have long been an admirer of President Kennedy and often recall words from his extraordinary speeches, like his address to the Irish Parliament almost 50 years ago when he described the qualities of the Irish as 'a remarkable combination of hope, confidence and imagination - that is needed more than ever today'.  I can see that combination of qualities in the programme of commemorative events planned here, its link into the Gathering and the opportunity to celebrate the remarkable way that Ireland was lit up by the visit of one of its most famous sons.