In June 1963 President John Fitzgerald Kennedy visited Ireland, his ancestral home. During his historic visit he remarked to the people of Limerick, “This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection.” The President’s eight great-grandparents all migrated to Boston, Massachusetts during the devastating Great Hunger/Famine of the late 1840’s. By the end of the century, both of President Kennedy’s grandfathers had become successful Boston politicians. Patrick J. Kennedy was a tavern owner and later a banker who served in both Houses of the Massachusetts Legislature and was the political “boss” of a ward in Boston. John F. (“Honey Fitz”) Fitzgerald, a colorful politician who served in the Massachusetts State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, was also mayor of Boston for three terms.

The talk will feature video of the ancestral homesteads and footage of his visit in Ireland including excerpts from his speeches while there. The presentation includes his favorite song “The Boys of Wexford”, a song about the heroism of the Wexford people who rose against the British in the 1798 Rebellion.

Presenter: Sean Murphy was born and reared in Dublin and came to live on Cape Cod in 2005. He has a passion for his homeland and loves to share his knowledge and interest about his heritage through classes, workshops and conversation. He is a teacher of Irish history, music, and dance. Over the past fifteen years he has taught courses at the Irish Cultural Center of New England in Canton, Cape Cod Sons of Erin, Cape Cod Cultural Center, the Cotuit Center for the Arts, and at venues on Nantucket. Sean Murphy has a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree from Trinity College Dublin’s department of Economic and Social Studies; a BSC in Mathematics and Physics from London University; and qualified as a Management Accountant with the Dublin Business School. He is a nationally certified Business Mentor.

Registration is required for this online Zoom event.