IRISH TRAVEL & CULTURE GUIDE
SUMMER 2013
June 2013
JFK LIBRARY WELCOMES IRELAND’S TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY
In May, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston welcomed Ireland’s Taoiseach Enda Kenny to celebrate the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s trip to Ireland.
Tom McNaught, director of the JFK Library Foundation, served as host for the evening, welcoming Taoiseach Kenny and his wife, along with over 150 guests, including leaders from Boston’s Irish community and public officials. Among the guests were Vicki Kennedy, widow of Senator Ted Kennedy, and Congresswoman Niki Tsongas.
Senator Paul Kirk introduced Kenny and presented the Taoiseach with a framed poem called the River Shannon, which Sinead deValera, wife of Eamon deValera, recited to President Kennedy the night before he left Ireland.
After viewing a video of President Kennedy’s trip to Ireland, Mr. Kenny said, “It’s a real privilege to be able to stand at this podium, in this building, in this city, and listen to these words again; with their clarity, truth and poignancy, which still reaches out to millions of people in various ways around the world.”
To top off the evening, Irish fiddle master Séamus Connolly of County Clare performed several Irish tunes, including The Shores of Amerikay.
During his visit to Boston, Mr. Kenny laid a wreath at the Boston Marathon memorial at Copley Square Park, and was commencement speaker at Boston College’s graduation ceremonies.