JFK - In His Words

Were you there? Do you have a JFK story?

The video is part of an exhibition and website which will open in Dublin, Ireland on June 21, 2013 at the National Library of Ireland in partnership with the U.S. Embassy, JFK Presidential Library in Boston, the National Archives and RTE.

Contributions from:

Sarah Bolger
Mike Feeney Callan
Sharon Corr
Roddy Doyle
Moya Doherty
Sergeant Margaret Flanagan
Jamie Heaslip
Micheal O Muircheartaigh
Mark Pollock
Robert Sheehan
Jim Sheridan
Ryan Tubridy
Laura Whitmore

Footage courtesy of RTE Archive.

FULL TEXT OF VIDEO:

If the day was clear enough, and if you went down to the bay, and you looked West,
and your sight was good enough, you would see Boston, Massachusetts.

It is strange that so many years could pass and so many generations pass and still
some of us could come here to Ireland and feel ourselves at home and not feel
ourselves in a strange country, but feel ourselves among neighbors, even though we
are separated by generations, by time, and by thousands of miles.

Our two nations, divided by distance, have been united by history. No people ever
believed more deeply in the cause of Irish freedom than the people of the United
States.

And no country contributed more to building my own than your sons and
daughters.

They came to our shores in a mixture of hope and agony, and they left
behind hearts, fields, and a nation yearning to be free.

It is no wonder that James Joyce described the Atlantic as a bowl of bitter tears, and an earlier poet wrote: "They
are going, going, going, and we cannot bid them stay."

But today this is no longer the country of hunger and famine. Nor is it any longer a
country of persecution, political or religious. It is a free country.

Great powers have their responsibilities and their burdens, but the smaller nations of
the world must fulfil their obligations as well.

The greatest art of the world was the work of little nations. The most enduring
literature of the world came from little nations. And the heroic deeds that thrill
humanity through generations were the deeds of little nations fighting for their freedom.

Those who may feel, that in these difficult times, who may believe that freedom may
be on the run, or that some nations may be permanently subjugated and eventually
wiped out, would do well to remember Ireland.

Modern economics, weapons and communications have made us realise more than ever that we are one human family and this one planet is our home.

Ireland is sending its most talented to do the world's most important work—the work of peace. You are not content to sit by your fireside while others are in need of your help. Nor are you content with the recollections of the past when you face the responsibilities of the present.

You have something to give to the world, and that is a future of peace with freedom.

George Bernard Shaw, speaking as an Irishman, summed up an approach to life:
"Other peoples," he said, "see things and say: `Why?' ... But I dream things that never were—and I say: `Why not?"'

It is that quality of the Irish, the combination of hope, confidence and imagination that is needed more than ever today. The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by sceptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities.

We need men who can dream of things that never were, and ask why not.

Your future is as promising as your past is proud, and your destiny lies not as a peaceful island in a sea of troubles, but as a maker and shaper of world peace.

[oliv]

Beautiful. Ireland - thank you for giving John F. Kennedy to the USA --- and to the world. When I hear JFK's voice speaking these words to the Irish -- and he talks about Ireland's contribution to the world -- and its gifts to the world, I think, but most of all Ireland gave the world JFK.

[billywoods]

I AM SO PROUD OF OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY AND ITS BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

[georgiagcd]

I’m not even irish and I thought this was beautiful
I spent some time there and I do miss Ireland!
(also Mister Robert Sheehan you are stunning!)

[egrogan]

I'm old enough to clearly remember the day JFK was shot and also his inauguration in 1961. Most people don't understand how important it was that JFK was our first president of Irish descent. The Irish were thought of as very low-class almost up until JFK's presidency. My dad was born in 1920, of Irish descent here in U.S. and when he went looking for work in 1920's as a child (he came from a very poor family), he saw signs that said "No Irish Need Apply." No one wanted to hire the Irish. So, when JFK was elected, that was a huge victory for those of us of Irish descent and a real turning point for us Irish. 20 yrs after his election, we had another president of Irish descent, President Ronald Reagan.

[pierremsquared]

I've read that everyone who could understand the news can remember what they were doing and where they where doing it when they heard the news of JFK's assassination and that's certainly true for me!

I was 13 and it was a Saturday morning (23rd Nov here in Australia) and my two (younger) siblings and I had got up to watch "The Bugs Bunny Show" on TV as we did every Saturday morning back then.

I turned the TV on and we waited for the overnight test pattern to change to "The Bugs Bunny Show". Instead of the show a news announcer came on and, before he started to speak I remember thinking "What's happened to Bugs Bunny" and then the news guy said "President Kennedy has been assassinated in Dallas Texas".

I leapt to my feet and ran into my Parents bedroom and said "Mum & Dad "President Kennedy has been assassinated in Dallas Texas"" and then dashed back to the TV with my Parents close behind me and we all watched the news.

One day I hope to visit the Kennedy Brothers graves in Arlington and leave a bunch of flowers with a card that will read "Rest in Peace Gentlemen. You were the greatest loss your country ever had".

Had JFK lived he would have served a second term followed by Bobbie Kennedy for two terms which would have meant a total of 16yrs of the Brothers Kennedy as Presidents of the USA. This would have given us a gentler and kinder USA and, therefore, a gentler and kinder world than we have now!

RIP JFK & RFK

[EOD]

I like this but think it may have worked better if ''ordinary'' people were used instead of well-known figures. That's not trying to take away from the achievements made by the people in this video, just think the message would be better suited to less well-known people.