2023 marks the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s visit to Ireland, the first by a serving US president. To commemorate this pivotal moment in Irish-American relations, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, are hosting an event in honor of the great man. Homecoming: JFK in Ireland. This temporary exhibition invites visitors to step back in time to 1963 and reflect on the atmosphere and impact of a momentous journey.
Catherine Healy, Historian-in-Residence at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum says “We are delighted to be hosting this exhibition in collaboration with the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. JFK’s visit to Ireland brought international attention to the progress made by the independent Irish state, but it also served as a celebration of Irish diaspora success. The first Catholic to be elected to the White House, he was a powerful emblem of Irish America’s transition from tenement poverty to middle-class respectability. We hope that visitors young and old will enjoy this retrospective look at his time in Ireland”.
Travel2Ireland had the privilege of attending the JFK60 celebration event which was held in the Epic museum on the 28th June. The event featured a reception and panel. Tánaiste Micheál
Martin TD, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Defence for Ireland, Claire D. Cronin, US
Ambassador to Ireland, Maura T. Healey, Governor of Massachusetts, and Stephen Kennedy Smith, JFK Library Foundation Board Member and son of Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, were all in attendance to discuss the legacy of President Kennedy’s visit and current US-Ireland relations with Dearbhail McDonald, award-winning Irish journalist, author, broadcaster and motivational speaker.
Date: 7th June – September 2023
Time: 10am-5pm
Where: Epic The Irish Emigration Museum
