For Immediate Release: March 17, 2003
Further information: Ann Scanlon 617-514-1662
“The lilt of that green land danced in his blood”
– from Mrs. Kennedy’s poem about her husband
Boston, MA—In celebration of the nation’s immigrant tradition, on Monday, March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, and to mark the 40th anniversary of President Kennedy’s trip to Ireland, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum will open for the first-time to the press the Fitzgerald family bible. The bible contains a handwritten chronicle of generations of the Fitzgerald family from 1857, including the birth of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on May 29, 1917. John F. Kennedy took the oath of office as the 35th President of the United States on the bible on January 20, 1961.
Museum Curator Frank Rigg will be on-hand in the Museum to discuss the bible and items treasured by President Kennedy from his 1963 trip to Ireland. Those items include:
- an antique sterling-silver goblet made in Dublin in 1805 that was placed in the Oval Office, and upon Mrs. Kennedy’s request, always had a fresh flower in it each morning.
- a fragment of a pennant that flew over the Raleigh, the ship commanded by the Irish-born Revolutionary War hero John Barry; like President Kennedy’s great-grandfather, Barry hailed from County Wexford, Ireland.
- the Irish blackthorn walking stick presented to President Kennedy by his cousin Jimmy Kennedy
- a Waterford crystal pedestal vase outlining the history of John F. Kennedy and his family heritage, presented to the president by the New Ross Harbor Commissioners in 1963
- a Carrickmacross lace napkin, one of a set of 36, presented to the president by Irish Prime Minister Sean LeMass
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a descendant of the Fitzgeralds of Bruff, County Limerick, Ireland and the Kennedys of New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. The Fitzgeralds and Kennedys worked in Boston as peddlers, coopers, and common laborers, and became clerks, tavern owners, and retailers. By the end of the 19th century, President Kennedy’s grandfathers, Patrick “P.J.” Kennedy and John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, had become successful Boston politicians and began the family tradition of public service.