President John F. Kennedy Visits Ireland, June 1963

[appalachiablue]

British Pathos Newsreel. Also:

- *(Unofficial Film) 'Previously Unseen Video of JFK In Ireland; 1963 Trip, Wexford Ancestral Home, 5 Mos. Before Death,' Aug. 4, 2021, The Guardian,
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016298489

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I know some folks who visited Ireland in the early 1980s

before the invasion of US corporations and a more relaxed social climate. The locals were still talking about JFK's visit then. They hated Reagan, but they knew Pres. Kennedy was an Irish boy made good.

[appalachiablue]

2. I hear you, large European cities in the 1970s

weren't filled with McDonalds, The Gap stores, Citibank, BOA and more as I well remember. It was also so nice in the US- before airports became shopping malls and rapid commercialization all over the nation.

In summer 1998, I visited Dublin and environs briefly, wish I'd had more time but what I saw was terrific- the charming, lively Temple Bar district along the river with clubs, bookshops; also real Irish dancing in a pub; the wonderful art museum and the *US ambassador's residence outside the city. Then 'Riverdance' back home, 1st time.

- Jean Kennedy Smith, JFK sister, US ambassador (1993-1998) when I visited,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Kennedy_Smith

[Rhiannon12866]

14. I visited Ireland in 1983 with my parents and grandmother

And we visited John F. Kennedy Park in Galway - they were still talking about it then. The unusual thing was that we had a guide who looked so much like another U.S. president to me. I kept asking my father if he didn't agree, but he wasn't sure. Turns out that I was right! Patrick, our Irish guide, was the official winner of the Irish Jimmy Carter Lookalike Contest, LOL. And part of his prize on winning was dinner with Miss Lillian! And when we visited the park named after President Kennedy, Patrick lamented that there was yet to be a park named after President Carter!

[SheilaAnn]

3. Thank you for posting this, I was a young 23 yr. old when he made this trip. n/t

[appalachiablue]

4. Sure thing, so you have a good recall

of this great period. I remember JFK some as a child, mom took my older brother to see LBJ later when he campaigned for pres., wish I had seen him.

[SheilaAnn]

5. It was a great time and I come from a family of repubs. I was and still am the black sheep but with

JFK being Catholic they didn't have too much to say. Good times until the following November, then the nation literally went into shock and depression. It changed everything.

[appalachiablue]

7. Yes wonderful energy and optimism until

that awful tragedy. I remember bits and pieces, my grandfather died two weeks later and mom got through that although it was difficult.

You're one of the few people I've heard mention the sad mood of the country. I don't recall much focus on that aspect in media, but maybe I wasn't attentive enough.

[Skittles]

6. I lived in England at the time

[appalachiablue]

8. Cool and lucky you. I lived there briefly

in summer during college.

[Skittles]

9. I was a USAF brat

my mum was Brit so we were stationed there a lot

[appalachiablue]

10. Very good. I really liked it and have

been back a couple times briefly. A lot of my ancestry is Brit.

BoJo and the Tories are making trouble there lately though.

[Skittles]

11. omg this just kills me

my DNA analysis showed I am just 7% English, the rest is Norwegian.....I knew my dad was Norwegian but WTF.....I know the Vikings got around, but THAT much? My mum passed long ago, it would have very much disturbed her to know how little Brit she really was.

[appalachiablue]

12. That's a lot of Norwegian, did her

parents migrate from Norway to Britain maybe. And those 2 countries aren't that far apart, only separated by the sea.

In 1940, the Nazis occupied Norway. So the King of Norway, his heir and the Norwegian govt. left for Britain where they stayed through the war,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_campaign

[Skittles]

13. not that I know of

I do know one of her grandfathers was left on a doorstep so I can surmise he probably had Viking horns

[pfitz59]

15. My DNA test says I'm 60% Irish

From Counties Cork and Kerry. I know my Father's kin came over (to Canada) as early as 1800. My mom's Grandparents immigrated in 1904. None because of the potato famine. All on work contracts.

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread appalachiablue.