Kennedy ancestral home in Ireland to be landmarked

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan says Government will underwrite project at Kennedy homestead in Dunganstown

PATRICK ROBERTS,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Thursday, December 10, 2009, 7:26 AM

Updated Thursday, December 10, 2009, 8:58 AM

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President Kennedy in Dunganstown, Ireland, 27 June 1963. Courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.

The Kennedy ancestral home and visitor center in Dunganstown, County Wexford ,will receive a major upgrade, the Irish Government has revealed. A special section honoring Sen. Edward Kennedy will be included.

The founder of the Kennedy dynasty, Patrick Kennedy, a small farmer, left Dunganstown and sailed from New Ross at the height of the Irish Famine in the 1840s. President John F. Kennedy visited the farm on his historic trip to Ireland in 1963.

However, the farm has seen hard times since then, and the small visitor center was in danger of closing.

During a visit there last year, Jean Kennedy Smith, the last surviving family member, asked that the historic site be upgraded.

Now Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has revealed the Government will underwrite a project at the Kennedy homestead in Dunganstown.

"Senator Kennedy was unquestionably one of the best friends Ireland ever had on Capitol Hill," Lenihan told the Irish Parliament Wednesday.

"In a modest way I would like to honor the memory of a great man from a great family. The development of this important visitor attraction will be a welcome boost to tourism in the South East."

Lenihan said the election of John F Kennedy as President in 1960 also gave a "powerful sense of hope, possibility and self-belief" to Irish people all over the world.”

Government officials said they were still working on the details of the upgrade.

"We haven't decided as yet what the project will entail," said a spokesman.

"We will have to meet with the landowner and local authority and go forward from there."

However, Labor Party Eamon leader Gilmore criticized the announcement, which was made during a tough budget speech.

"To add insult to injury, the Minister quoted the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in a budget which cuts spending for health, education and children — three areas for which Sen. Kennedy fought all his life," said Gilmore.

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AubreeC | Dec 23, 2009, 12:26 AM EST

The government already understands the predicament that many homeowners face with. Government grants home repair were designed to assist homeowners who basically do not have the financial resources. If you want to save money, one way to stop spending as much per month is do some simple home repairs. For instance, leaking faucets and running toilets – both are caused by minor problems, in the case of faucets it's usually a bad washer, and toilets are usually caused by a bad flapper. Both repairs take little effort, not much time, and are far cheaper than a cash advance for a plumber.

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Watereskhill | Dec 12, 2009, 08:33 PM EST

If the Kennedy homestead in Ireland meant so much to them, and they multi-millionaires, why was it left to tumble and why are the Irish people to now pick up the bill for it's restoration and an extension to honor the late Senator Edward? They spend more on Christmas decorations at their compound in Massachusettes every year than would have 'upgraded' the place several times since? Romancing the Kennedys is one thing. A reality check another.

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kickstar | Dec 11, 2009, 07:13 AM EST

A tourism site at the Birthplace of the Ancestor of John F. Kennedy will bring in millions in tourism for the pittance that has to spent on it, Anyone who can't see that has only lard between their ears.

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gobdawpaddy | Dec 11, 2009, 02:08 AM EST

Amazing isn't it that thsi shower of inbred Fianna Fail gobs****S that Irealnd calls their government,can't find funding for school repairs, cervical cancer screening for teenage girls, who are cutting social welfare benefits but can still find the funds to build a memorial to Ted Kennedy in Wexford and can reduce de price of de drink to stimulate sales. The sooner 'Shrek' and the gobdaws he has surrounded himself with in cabinet are dispatched to the private sector the better.

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McNamara31 | Dec 10, 2009, 07:01 PM EST

The children of Ireland changed history, and the world, for the better. This will be a tribute to both.

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Rebelforce | Dec 10, 2009, 04:32 PM EST

Rather ironic this "honor" happening now with tens of thousands of Irish reportedly looking to emigrate, since it was Bobby and Teddy Kennedy that spearheaded the changes in US immigration laws which had once favored the Irish and other Europeans and instead called for increased immigration from Third World countries. The result? Today you're far more likely to hear somebody with a Pakistani accent on the streets of New York than an Irish brogue.

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kickstar | Dec 10, 2009, 09:28 AM EST

When you consider the millions of acres and properties the land commission took into its control over the years to let a site like this still remain in the ownership of a local farmer beggars belief.

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