Rose Fitzgerald Autumn School to become a regular fixture in calendar for Limerick village

THE ROSE Fitzgerald Autumn School is set to be a firm fixture in the calendar due to the success of the inaugural event.

The communities of Bruff and Lough Gur came together to organise a series of events celebrating Limerick’s connection to President John F Kennedy through his mother Rose Fitzgerald.

The main event during a packed weekend took place appropriately in the Thomas Fitzgerald Centre. Cousins of JFK from both sides of the Atlantic attended.

Fionán Coughlan, festival committee member, said Pat Moloney, Knockainey, whose grandmother was first cousin of Honey Fitz, shared a story of the day Time Magazine visited Limerick to photograph his family and the location of the original Fitzgerald homestead along the shores of Lough Gur.

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“Tom Fitzgerald, a first cousin of JFK from Boston, recounted the amazing story of the Bruff Bible. This Bible was taken to Boston from Limerick by his great grandfather Thomas Fitzgerald in 1852. JFK made a special request that he was to be sworn in with his hand upon this bible from Limerick. Tom donated the bible to the museum in Boston in 1978 after the birth of his son David, who was the last recorded birth in the family bible,” said Mr Coughlan.

The panel was joined by Kerry Kennedy – a daughter of Bobby Kennedy - via Zoom. Kerry was asked how her father and uncle managed to cultivate such a command of language and public speaking.

“She said her family had a Sunday tradition whereby each child would stand up and recite a poem by heart before dinner,” said Mr Coughlan. Afterwards, Tom Fitzgerald was presented with a statue of the Treaty Stone by Mr Coughlan, from Re:Story Limerick.