The Irish Kennedys

The Kennedy family's Irish roots

The story of the Kennedy family is of course the classic Irish-American immigrant tale – if not indeed the classic American immigrant tale.

As each generation of Kennedys was born, the family moved up in the world. Bridget took over their successful stationary store after her husband, Patrick, died from cholera.

Their youngest son, Patrick J. Kennedy, went on to become a successful Boston politician, winning five consecutive one-year terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and then three two-year terms in the state senate.

Then his son, Joseph P. Kennedy became a leading member of the Democratic Party, and the U.S ambassador to the U.K. And everyone knows the stories of Joseph’s sons, John, Bobby and Teddy.

JFK’s visit to Ireland as president in June 1963 was a famous moment in Irish history. While there, he visited Dunganstown, to see the family farm and visit relatives. He also saw the docks of the town of New Ross, from where his great-grandfather boarded a ship called the Washington Irving for the New World.

Speaking at a ceremony in New Ross, JFK paid tribute to his Irish heritage. “When my great grandfather left here to become a cooper in East Boston, he carried nothing with him except two things: a strong religious faith and a strong desire for liberty. I am glad to say that all his grandchildren have valued that inheritance.”

Historian Jay P. Dolan, who was working as an advisor to Kennedy at the time said that the president was “getting so Irish, the next thing you know he’ll be speaking with a brogue." JFK later said that the Irish trip was “one of the most moving experiences” of his life.

Poignantly, JFK promised an audience in Limerick that he would return in the springtime. He said Ireland “is not the land of my birth, but it the land for which I hold the greatest affection, and I will certainly come back in the springtime.”

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Nster.com