For Immediate Release: May 2, 2008
Further information: Brent R. Carney (617) 514-1662, Brent.Carney@JFKLFoundation.org
Boston MA – During a major address at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library today in which he marked the 10th Anniversary of the April 10, 1998 Good Friday Peace Accord in Northern Ireland by declaring that “Ireland is at peace,” An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, T.D., Prime Minister of Ireland, announced an historic gift of $2 million from the people of Ireland to the Kennedy Library Foundation to benefit the nation’s official memorial to President John F. Kennedy, America’s first Irish-Catholic President.
Click here (pdf) to read the remarks of Prime Minister Ahern.
Click here to listen to the remarks of Prime Minister Ahern.
Click here to watch the remarks of Prime Minister Ahern.
Click here to read the remarks of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. (pdf)
The speech, before an invitation only audience, was the last given by Prime Minister Ahern in the United States before stepping down as Ireland’s Prime Minister on May 6.
During his speech, Ahern called the Kennedy Library “a vibrant international centre” and announced the John F. Kennedy Irish Abroad Legacy Gift from the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Support for Irish Emigrant Groups program. The historic grant from the people of Ireland will go towards the cost of establishing the Irish Heritage Collection of the Kennedy Library Digital Archive, supporting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, and presenting public programs that celebrate diversity in the tradition of John F. Kennedy.
“I’m deeply touched and honored to thank the Prime Minister and the people of Ireland for the generous contribution to the Kennedy Library to support the ideals of President Kennedy,” said Senator Edward M. Kennedy. “I know my brother would be very grateful as well. On behalf of the entire Kennedy family, we thank the Prime Minister for his generosity, his statesmanship, and his friendship.”
“On behalf of the Board of Directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, I wish to express our profound gratitude to the citizens of Ireland for their extraordinarily generous contribution to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in honor of President Kennedy and his enduring influence upon Ireland’s citizens, her diaspora, and all citizens of the world,” said Paul G. Kirk, Jr., Chairman of the Kennedy Library Foundation’s Board of Directors.
John Shattuck, CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, noted, “Most fittingly, 2008 marks the 45th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s visit to Ireland and the 10th Anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony honoring the Peacemakers of Northern Ireland. For now and for all time, the Kennedy Presidential Library treasures the gifts of Ireland to President Kennedy’s life and legacy, and we are honored to be the recipient of the John F. Kennedy Irish Abroad Legacy Gift in his name.”
Prime Minister Ahern was first welcomed to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library by the Kennedy family on December 15, 1997 when he was honored for his commitment to the peace process in Northern Ireland at a dinner and reception attended by 350 guests.
One year later, on December 7, 1998, the Kennedy family and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation presented a special John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to eight political leaders of Northern Ireland and the American chairman of the peace talks in recognition of the extraordinary political courage they demonstrated in negotiating the historic Good Friday Peace Agreement of April 10, 1998. The award presentation was made by Caroline Kennedy, President of the Kennedy Library Foundation, and Senator Edward M. Kennedy at a formal ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston.
At the time, the presentation of the Profile in Courage Award to a non-American was unprecedented. Nobel Peace Prize winners John Hume of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party; as well as Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein; John Alderdice, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland; David Ervine, Progressive Unionist Party; Monica McWilliams, Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition; Gary McMichael, Ulster Democratic Party; Malachi Curran, Northern Ireland Labour Party; and former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, the American chairman of the peace talks, were presented with the prestigious award for political courage. In making the presentation to the political leaders of Northern Ireland, Caroline Kennedy said:
“John Hume, David Trimble, Gerry Adams, John Alderdice, Malachi Curran, David Ervine, Gary McMichael, and Monica McWilliams recognized that the path to peace, justice, reconciliation, and an end to the violence in Northern Ireland is through dialogue and negotiation, and that progress toward these long-sought goals can be achieved only when leaders on all sides are willing to set aside their differences and find common ground. These eight courageous leaders committed themselves to ending thirty years of violence and bloodshed in Northern Ireland, to reducing divisions between Unionists and Nationalists, and to building bridges between these proud communities for the future. They dedicated themselves skillfully and tirelessly to their vision of peace. Their participation in the peace process led to the Good Friday Peace Agreement of April 10, 1998, which has changed the course of history for all the people of Northern Ireland. Each of them is a true Profile in Courage for our time and for all time.”
More than any other educational or cultural institution, building or landmark in the United States, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts has come to be that which is most closely identified with Ireland and Irish Americans. The Kennedy Presidential Library is the nation’s official memorial to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, America’s first Irish-Catholic president, and, since it was dedicated in 1979, it has been a destination for more than six million Americans and citizens of the world.
Among the distinguished Irish foreign visitors who have visited the Kennedy Library and have been hosted by members of the Kennedy family are Prime Minister Bertie Ahern; President Mary McAleese; Prime Minister Garrett Fitzgerald; President Mary Robinson; Prime Minister Charles Haughey; and Prime Minister Albert Reynolds.
In recent years, the Kennedy Presidential Library has expanded its mission to include not only the preservation and display of the physical and archival elements of President Kennedy’s legacy, but also the creation of a vibrant civic center for open debate and mutual learning among citizens of the U.S., Ireland and the world.
A beloved international figure, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a son of Ireland and the preeminent representative of Irish leadership in America and around the world. In speaking to the people of Limerick during the state visit to his ancestors’ homeland in June 1963, President Kennedy remarked, “This is not the land of my birth but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection.” Addressing the Irish Parliament, he noted the special role of Ireland in the world, a role that he came to embody himself: “My friends, Ireland’s hour has come. You have something to give to the world, and that is a future of peace and freedom.”
The President’s eight great-grandparents all migrated to Boston, Massachusetts during the devastating Potato Famine of the late 1840’s, seeking to take advantage of the economic opportunity offered in America. 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.