President John F. Kennedy’s funeral took place on 25
November. While the Irish cadets were in Washington at the Kennedy graveside, a
national day of mourning was declared in Ireland. Businesses, shops and schools
were closed, and religious services took place across Ireland.
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| Crowds outside the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin for the Kennedy memorial service 25 November 1963 |
In Dublin, the main service took place in the Pro-Cathedral.
Among the mourners were Bean Sinead De Valera, the Taoiseach Seán Lemass, Jack
Lynch, and Col. Sean Brennan, Aide-de-Camp. A US flag was flown at half-mast
outside the Pro-Cathedral as a mark of respect.
A video from the RTÉ archive shows that it was not just the
Catholic majority of the Irish society that participated in the mourning, but
all sections of society. The video shows people filing into the Irish Hebrew
Centre for a memorial service there.
Afterwards, the Kennedy homestead became a museum dedicated
to Kennedy’s visit and the Kennedy family. A memorial park was set up in New
Ross, and a bust was unveiled in US Embassy by Ted Sorensen, Kennedy’s
speechwriter, and his wife, Sara Elbery, then just newly married. It was
Sorensen that worked with Kennedy on the landmark speech he gave to both Houses
of the Oireachtas during his visit in June 1963.
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| Ted Sorensen and his wife Sara, with the US ambassador Matt McCluskey, for the unveiling of the Kennedy bust 7 June 1964 |
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