A year after Caroline Kennedy visited her ancestral home of Bruff, the building which she dedicated to the great grandfather of President John F Kennedy will this weekend officially host a permanent exhibition of photographs from his visit to Limerick in 1963. The exhibition will be officially launched by the Cath-aoirleach of Limerick County and City Council, Cllr Kevin Sheahan.
Bruff Heritage Group invited Caroline Kennedy to Bruff on 21st June last year to dedicate the former courthouse building to the memory of Thomas Fitzgerald who emigrated from Bruff in 1852. It was a huge occasion for the town, and the visit of Caroline, the only living child of President Kennedy, represented a significant step in the future of the Thomas Fitzgerald Centre.
On Sunday Bruff Heritage Group will launch the first phase of a photographic exhibition of the visit of John F Kennedy to Limerick 61 years ago. His visit to Limerick had not been originally on the schedule, but after the intervention of the then-Mayor, Frances Condell, last minute arrangements were made to have President Kennedy come to Limerick.
The exhibition, which will be on permanent display in the Thomas Fitzgerald Centre, was donated by Limerick County Council last year to Bruff Heritage Group. It is the first time that the photographs will be on permanent display and the move by Limerick County Council last year was seen to formally acknowledge that the Thomas Fitzgerald Centre in Bruff is the most appropriate home for the display.
As a result of Caroline Kennedy’s visit to Bruff, the links between Limerick and the Kennedy family have been strengthened. Last week the daughter of Senator Bobby Kennedy visited Limerick and said that she felt a very strong connection to Limerick.
The launch will take place on Sunday at 7.30pm and will also include a re-enactment of the speeches of President Kennedy and Mayor Frances Condell on the occasion of President Kennedy’s visit to Limerick on 29th June 1963.