Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 26 Nov 1963

Vol. 57 No. 2

Death of the President of the United States of America, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Tomás Ó Maoláin

I move:

That Seanad Éireann extend to the people of the United States of America its deep sympathy on the tragic death of President Kennedy and, as a tribute of respect to his memory, that the House do now adjourn.

Only five months ago President John Fitzgerald Kennedy moved amongst us, receiving a spontaneous welcome from the Irish people which surpassed anything ever seen before. And now he has gone to join the Immortals whose names will be remembered forever.

Mere words cannot give adequate expression to the deep sense of personal loss which we feel here in Ireland, and which is felt by people of every colour, class and creed throughout the world, because the assassin's bullets which cut him down in his prime not only robbed the United States of a great President and Ireland of a staunch friend, but deprived the nations, big and small, of the outstanding champion and bulwark of human freedom, peace and progress.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, architect of the New Frontier, was the youngest man ever to be elected Chief Executive of the United States. He was the first President of purely Irish descent and was intensely proud of his Irish origins. He lost no opportunity of proclaiming his deep affection for our country and his belief in its future.

As the first Catholic to reach the White House, his electoral triumph was a devastating blow to bigotry and intolerance which reverberated around the world.

His term of office was short, but fruitful to his country and to the world. He left the United States stronger, militarily and economically, than ever before. He increased its prestige through the Peace Corps and the Alliance for Progress. His decisive action in the Cuban crisis averted a world catastrophe, eased the Cold War, and led to the, Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Following in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, who freed the slaves, John Fitzgerald Kennedy fought long and hard to give his negro fellow-citizen equal civil rights. His work for housing, health and social security ensures him an abiding place among the great progressives of his time.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, First Citizen of his country, crusader for liberty and friend of the "have-nots", is at rest, among the trees, in America's beautiful National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia. There, beside the Unknown Soldier and a goodly company of those who served their nation well, he awaits the Last Reveille.

An outstanding President has passed into history. His name will illuminate its pages with those of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln in all the years to come.

Go luí an fód go héadtrom ar a chroí uasal is go dtuga Dia sólás dóibh siúd go léir a fhág sé i bhfus.

Professor Hayes

Today we are not merely declaring our sympathy on the death of the Head of a great and friendly State. To us in this House and to the people of Ireland the passing of John Fitzgerald Kennedy is something personal, the loss of a beloved friend and near neighbour. His pride in his Irish ancestry and the depth of his faith helped to make him the good American that he was. He ennobled the highest Office in his own country, his conduct enhanced its importance and prestige and made it a bright light of promise in a distracted world. His achievements were a source of pride to the whole people of Ireland, so many of whom, down-trodden and impoverished at one period, and derided for the poverty which had been imposed on them by law, had been driven from their homes to the United States of America.

It was a gracious gesture to come here to Ireland where he was absolutely at home, whether he was addressing the Irish Parliament or mingling with the people of the Irish countryside. Here the President was no remote and important stranger. He was homely, relaxed and very human, with no assumption of false dignity and no condescension. In many varying situations he was never at a loss for the appropriate word and never missed the opportunity for a kind and generous gesture. His vigorous, vibrant personality impressed itself upon those who had the good fortune to come into immediate contact with him and, indeed, upon everybody who watched his progress through the country. The address to the two Houses of the Oireachtas was a masterpiece for its deep and serious content, for its clear delivery, its liveliness, and its apt references and quotations. Everywhere we had evidence of the greatness of the man in his careful attention, not only to principles, but to minute details. His genuine concern for our people's welfare was shown by his own visit and by the pains he took to open up many paths of cultural and other associations with the United States of America.

Even after his death the request that Irish soldiers should be present in Washington yesterday marks in a most gracious way the impression conveyed by the President of his visit to Ireland.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy became President of the United States at a critical moment in history and it can fairly be said that upon him fell a greater burden of responsibility than had ever been borne by any of his predecessors. Nothing could be more important to mankind than his, successful efforts to avert a conflict which would have meant almost total destruction. And that success was achieved without relinquishing any of the rights or principles of the President or of his people. He broke down barriers to intercourse between statesmen, which brought about a new and better situation in what is called the Cold War. This he accomplished by a combination of unflinching determination with an open flexible personal approach. A man of the atomic age, handling every modern weapon and burdened with all the problems which these weapons have brought upon us, his roots were firmly fixed in the Christian tradition with high principles staunchly held to guide him in his most difficult moments.

President Kennedy was a dedicated man. He fought against the forces of violence and hatred at home and abroad and was acutely conscious of the dangers to himself in taking the course which he thought right. He will surely be honoured in history as a very great man, perhaps the greatest of all the Presidents of the United States. Lincoln preserved the Union, but one hundred years later Kennedy laid the foundations of a greater Union of peace and understanding which we hope will preserve the world from destruction.

He was killed after only three years in office with his powers still developing and still greater achievements yet to come. For that disaster to the world, we here in Ireland feel deeply.

Our sympathy goes out to his successor and to his fellow citizens. Above all, we share the grief of his wife, his children and his family. We pray God to comfort them and to give the light of Heaven to his soul.

It is an honour for me, Sir, to second the motion.

Mr. Murphy

On behalf of the Labour Group in the Seanad and on my own behalf, I wish to be associated with this expression of sorrow and sympathy on the tragic death of President Kennedy.

President Kennedy did us the honour of addressing the two Houses of the Oireachtas in June and all of us who heard and saw him then were impressed by his sincerity, his knowledge, his humour and his friendliness. He was, I know, an inspiration to us all and it is sad to think that he will not pass this way again.

The untimely death of this young but wise, courageous and dedicated leader is a grievous loss to the Free World, to the great United States, but most of all to his tragic young wife and children.

In his too short period as President of the United States he exhibited qualities of firmness and courage, wisdom and fortitude, which led us to expect much of him in the years to come.

President Kennedy's death is a very real and heartfelt loss to all of us, but our especial sympathy goes out to his family and we pray that God may comfort them in this tragic hour.

Professor Stanford

As a representative in Seanad Éireann of one of the universities which conferred honorary degrees on President Kennedy during his visit to Ireland, I should like to join in this tribute to his memory.

Many of us will remember with a specially poignant sense of bereavement the idealism, wisdom and warm friendliness of his speech at the graduation ceremonies in St. Patrick's Hall only five months ago. Then we had every reason to be proud that he, not only as President of the United States but also as a man so richly endowed with gifts of nature and education, should have accepted our highest academic honours so cordially. At the outset of his career, he graduated in one of America's most famous universities. Then, in the all-too-brief period of his Presidency he brilliantly displayed that sense of true historical perspective, that intellectual equilibrium, and that humane understanding, which all liberal-minded universities would like to believe to be the finest qualities they can foster in men and women who may have to endure the splendours and miseries of government.

Now, all his dedicated gifts and energies have been brutally struck down in their prime. But what he has so finely said and done in the cause of justice and freedom will not be frustrated or forgotten.

We offer our deepest sympathy to the people of the United States and especially to his sorrowing family: we feel their loss as our own personal loss.

Professor Quinlan

On behalf of the graduates of the National University, I wish to be associated with this message of heartfelt sympathy from Seanad Éireann to Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and her dear children, to the Kennedy family, and to all the people of the United States of America on their great loss.

It is hard for Senators, who were privileged, a few short months ago, to be inspired by the historic address from President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, to grasp the reality that he now lies buried in a hero's grave in Arlington Cemetery. It is harder still to grasp the mysterious workings of Divine Providence that called John Fitzgerald Kennedy so prematurely to his reward, at a time when his wise, experienced and enlightened leadership seemed so vital to world peace and security.

As Christians, we bow down and say: "Welcome be the will of God", confident that, as the Divine Plan unfolds, John Fitzgerald Kennedy will be even more triumphant in death as an ideal and an inspiration to statesmen everywhere in their quest for peace with justice based on the Christian concept of the supreme dignity of the human person.

To us in public life in Ireland, a country President Kennedy addressed as "one of the youngest of nations and the oldest of civilisations", his unselfish and devoted public service, his high principles and lofty ideals will ever act as an unfailing source of encouragement and guidance in our common endeavour to build a better Ireland. His life and work, as a most distinguished Harvard graduate, should serve as a continuing and compelling reproach both to the all too-many of our graduates who cynically disdain to make their contribution to public life and to those politicians who still fail to appreciate the contribution that graduates can, and should, make to public life.

Agus anois guím sólás na bhFlaitheas ar a ainm glégheal agus guím brat Mhuire i gcónaí ar a bhaintreach ró-chróga Jacqueline, agus ar a pháistí Caroline agus John.

Question put and agreed to unanimously.

Senators rose in their places.

An Cathaoirleach

The Chair will arrange to have the motion transmitted to the President of the United States of America.

The Seanad adjourned at 3.30 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 4th December, 1963.