JFK in Ireland: Four Days that Changed a President - Hardcover

Tubridy, Ryan

3.75

142 ratings by Goodreads

9780007317592: JFK in Ireland: Four Days that Changed a President

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 000731759X ISBN 13: 9780007317592

Publisher: Collins, 2010

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In his first book, award-winning radio and TV presenter Ryan Tubridy tells the fascinating story of the iconic president John F Kennedy's visit to Ireland.

The idolized, handsome and glamorous John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the great-grandson of Irish immigrants and the first and only Irish-Catholic American elected as President of the United States. He relished his Irish heritage and in June 1963 made a memorable four-day trip to his homeland, which he called the best 'four days of his life'. Tragically, five months later he was assassinated.

In this fully illustrated book, Tubridy reveals the huge effect JFK's visit had on Ireland - a country that at the time was largely agrarian and extremely poor. He includes never-seen-before photos of the president and private documents that reveal how the Irish rejoiced in having a president visit their shore. Tubridy evaluates whether the well-loved president, whose 'Camelot' years some believe would have heralded a golden age, actually inspired Ireland to reinvent itself and instilled pride in the Irish people, or whether the myth of JFK just left behind an idyllic dream of what could have been.

This book is a fascinating, unique and insightful read from one of Ireland's most popular personalities.

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Review:

‘In the manner of Woodward and Bernstein ... [Tubridy] displays a surreptitious gift for giving the foreground a fictive gloss in pursuit of the truth. Still pursuing the truth, his authorial master stroke is a simple one. He balances the subjective prose-eye with the more distanced eye of the camera.’ The Scotsman

From the Back Cover:

A beautifully nostalgic look back at JFK’s historic visit to his ancestral home

"This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection."

—President John F. Kennedy, Limerick, June 29, 1963

For the first time ever, award-winning journalist Ryan Tubridy tells the fascinating story of the young, iconic President John F. Kennedy’s only visit to Ireland. The idolized, handsome, and glamorous John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the great-grandson of Irish immigrants and the first and only Irish-Catholic American to be elected President of the United States. He relished his Irish heritage, and in June 1963 he made a memorable four-day trip to his homeland. Five months later, he was assassinated.

In this fully illustrated book, complete with never-before-seen photographs and heartwarming stories, Tubridy reveals the huge effect JFK’s visit had on Ireland, and the affection Kennedy felt for his fellow Irishmen and his Irish heritage. He also portrays how those sentiments were reciprocated by a nation enchanted by the young President, whose people took him into their hearts.

Fascinating and insightful, JFK in Ireland captures with authority and integrity the time that Kennedy described as “the best four days of my life.”

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