Kennedy’s vision of a better world

When Kennedy visited Ireland in 1963, we were proud of him for being the first Irish-American and the first Catholic to be elected to the office of President of the United States. However, Kennedy and his brother Robert played a large part in advancing the rights of black Americans.

President John F. Kennedy at the US Embassy in the Phoenix Park, now the Ambassador's Residence
27 June 1963

Kennedy took many subtle steps to improve the civil rights situation in the US, such as bringing law suits against local officials that obstructed African-Americans trying to register to vote and asking the Washington football team to vacate their federally-funded studio unless they removed the colour bar from their recruitment policy. It was Kennedy that was in power when the Birmingham campaign took place and when marshals had to be sent to escort James Meredith into the all-white University of Mississippi. Kennedy sent 500 marshals to protect Meredith – 200 of these marshals were injured and two were shot by pro-segregationists.

Kennedy was also the first president to appoint an African American to a senior position in the White House staff. On 10 November 1960, Andrew Hatcher became Associate Press Secretary to Kennedy and only he and Pierre Salinger, Press Secretary, were seen behind Kennedy when he gave his first news conference in 1961 after taking up office.

Fifty years later, an African-American claimed the most powerful post in the White House when Barack Obama was elected as President of the United States.

President Barack Obama in Dublin
23 May 2011

To find out more about Kennedy's visit to Ireland, check out our digital book covering those four days, President John F. Kennedy Visits Ireland in 1963, available on the iTunes Store for €9.99.

Bombing by Presidential Decree

President Barack Obama has approved US shelling of ISIS rebels in Iraq. The go ahead for airborne operations was given after the White House claimed that people from the Yazidi religious minority stranded on mountains were facing genocide.

Obama's decision to approve this type of 'humanitarian military intervention' will anger many who view it as inconsistent with his policy of arming Israel while it waged war on Gaza.

Former US presidents were embroiled in much international controversy as a result of bombing raids. Richard Nixon faced strong criticism over US bombing of Cambodia.

President Eamon de Valera receives President Nixon on 5 October 1970

Purchase framed photographs and prints @ Irish Photo Archive

O'Malley Edging Closer

Kevin O'Malley, the St Louis lawyer nominated to serve as the next US Ambassador to Ireland has won unanimously endorsement from the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. For  while the nomination process had been stuck in the type of groove that had stalled President Obama's car as he left the US Embassy in Dublin a few years back.

Kevin O'Malley's nomination 'now goes forward to the floor of the Senate for further consideration and a vote.'

The new U.S. Embassy in Ballsbridge was officially opened by Congressman Wayne L. Hays of Ohio. 23.05.1964

Purchase framed photographs and prints @ Irish Photo Archive

Taoiseach in New York

Taoiseach Enda Kenny today commences his St Patrick’s Day visit to the US where tomorrow he will meet President Barack Obama at the Oval Office. In accordance with a six decades old tradition Taoiseach Kenny will present President Obama with a bowl of shamrock.

He arrived in the country yesterday and is due to stay for six days during which he will meet political and business leaders. While there he will 'promote investment and jobs, and make the case for immigration reform in the US.'

17 March 1954. St. Patrick's Day Industrial Parade, Dublin. Costumed revellers promoting Bundoran tourism.

Purchase framed photographs and prints @ Irish Photo Archive

US Gun Scourge Continues

Despite many appeals for something to be done to halt the scourge of gun crime in the USA in the wake of last December's school massacre at Sandy Hook, the phenomenon has claimed the lives of 12 more people at a Washington Navy Yard. Police later shot dead the attacker bringing to 13 the number of fatalities resulting from the incident.

For the US the incident marked the 'deadliest mass shooting since 20 children and six adults were killed at a Connecticut school in December.'


Despite undertakings by US President Barack Obama to curb the ease with which US citizens can access guns he 'has been powerless to get legislation passed despite a string of mass shootings during his presidency.'

US President with Taoiseach during a 2011 visit to Ireland

Purchase framed photographs and prints @ Irish Photo Archive

Ich bin ein Berliner

President Barack Obama and his family have left Ireland for Germany where one of his famous predecessors, John F Kennedy made his memorable Ich Bin ein Berliner speech.

While the President was restricted to the North for the duration of his stay his wife, the US First Lady, Michelle Obama and the couples's two children spent much of the time in the Republic.

When JFK made his visit to Ireland 50 years ago this month much of the event was covered by Lensmen and the insuperable photographer Andy Farren, some of whose images from the time featured in a special 50th anniversary supplement put together for the Irish Independent.

Irish Photo Archive has a wide range of images of the JFK visit available for purchase and framing if desired.

Purchase framed photographs and prints @ Irish Photo Archive

Presidential Times

President Barack Obama is in the northern part of Ireland at the moment where he is speaking to an assembled audience at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.

The First Lady of the US, Michelle Obama was given a rapturous reception when she arrived to speak in the same venue.

The presidential visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of President John F Kennedy's arrival in Ireland in 1963. Then Lensmen were to the fore in capturing imagery of important moments for the benefit of posterity. Today a half century after the event Lensmen's endeavors are still being acknowledged, with their coverage of the 1963 Presidential visit featuring extensively at the weekend in the Irish Independent.

A Lensmen production that featured on the front cover of the Irish Independent weekend supplement on 15/06/2013

Capturing the images for Lensmen was the company's joint owner Andy Farren one of the country's finest snappers. Lensmen had been retained by the government of the day to put together the official album.

Andy Farren snapping away

Lensmen have now licenced the Irish Photo Archive to digitise and preserve Lensmen’s extensive collection. Last year the significant task of digitising the collection began, up until then the archive had been relatively untouched. The hope is that over sixty years of work and sixty years of Irish life will be made accessible to everyone through the website www.irishphotoarchive.ie and this vast, historically important collection will be preserved for generations to come.

To that end the Irish Photo Archive has been steadily scanning and uploading digital images from the archive to the website. 

We are especially pleased to be in possession of a series of images from the visit of John F. Kennedy to Ireland in 1963. These cover a number of the events that occurred during the visit such as the trip to Dunganstown to meet his relatives, his cavalcade through Dublin and many more. All of these images can be viewed on the website and prints are available for purchase both in Ireland and internationally.

Purchase framed photographs and prints @ Irish Photo Archive

Stasiland US Style

The Australian writer Anna Funder in her book Stasiland conjured up a frightening picture of life for an East German citizenry constantly spied on by the government.

But the ability to contrast life behind the 'Iron Curtain' and that in the 'free world' seems to be weakening as citizens in the latter fall prey to the surveillance state. In the US the Obama White House is engaged in invasive measures against its own citizens. It has been revealed that 'a secret court order gives the National Security Agency blanket authority to collect call data from a major phone carrier.' The privacy of Millions of US citizens are affected by the measure which has been described by politicians and civil liberties campaigners 'as the most sweeping intrusion into private data they had ever seen by the US government.'

President Obama will no doubt hope to escape the bad fall out when he visits Ireland later this month for the G8 summit to be hosted in Co Fermanagh. Obama has been to the country on one previous occasion, following in the tradition of many of his predecessors who have been to Ireland during their time in office.

President Kennedy on a visit to Ireland in 1963. 

Purchase framed photographs @ Irish Photo Archive