LIMERICK City and County Council is to host a special meeting in Bruff next Monday to mark the centenary of the birth of the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Bruff has significant links to the Fitzgerald Kennedy family.
In 1852 a young Thomas Fitzgerald left Bruff for the United States. He settled in Boston, where, like many of his fellow immigrants, he worked very hard and prospered. He married Rosanna Cox and they had twelve children. One of them John Francis (Honey Fitz) Fitzgerald went on to become Mayor of Boston and was a member of the US House of Representatives.
His eldest daughter Rose married Joseph P Kennedy; they had several children including John F Kennedy, the future president of the United States.
To mark the 100th anniversary of JFK’s birth, Limerick City and County Council is holding a special meeting in the Thomas Fitzgerald Centre in Bruff on Monday May 29.
Mayor Kieran O’Hanlon said he was delighted to be able to host a meeting of the full council in Bruff.
“Monday is a very special day, marking the centenary of JFK’s birth and where better to host the meeting than in his ancestral home.”
“The meeting in Bruff will be only the third time a full meeting of Limerick City and County Council will be held outside of the Council offices in Dooradoyle or Merchant’s Quay.”
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F Kennedy, officially dedicated the Thomas Fitzgerald Centre, formerly the old Courthouse, in memory of Thomas Fitzgerald on June 21, 2013. Every generation of the Fitzgerald Kennedy family have visited their ancestral home in Bruff.
by Alan Jacques
