John F Kennedy got 'the greatest reception' in Cork: Remembering JFK's visit to Leeside

But this exciting day will linger in the memory of every man, woman and child who became part of it.

Cork, through its people, gave President Kennedy the greatest reception in his tour of Ireland — a tour in which every place he visited surpassed even the most optimistic expectation in the magnitude of their welcomes.

Cork, indeed, did President Kennedy proud and its people put on a welcome that is likely to be never surpassed for any great man or woman again.

From the moment his helicopter touched down at Collins Barracks until he left as a freeman of the historic city, from the Corporation playing field, one and a half hours later, it was “roses, roses all the way” from the citizens to the new citizen.

To say that enthusiasm knew no bounds was just the literal truth for the policemen who manned the barriers found that they could not always hold under control this cheering crowd who wanted to grasp his hand — to give his or her personal welcome to the grandson of an Irish emigrant who become president of the greatest democracy in the world.

And the historic ceremony in the flower-bedecked City Hall will be remembered for its dignity and formality as well as for its enthusiasm.

Cork indeed will remember and President Kennedy will never forget.

The air of excitement which pervaded the City Hall made little of the long wait for the 1,000 people who were invited into the auditorium for the formal ceremony for the conferring of the Freedom of the City on the president.

A broadcast announcement that there was a change of plan and that the presidential party was half an hour behind schedule was contradicted almost immediately after it was announced.

The party was absolutely on schedule. The TV cameras were in position, the journalists and photographers were around and about in numbers and all was in readiness for the big occasion.

Batteries of floodlights revealed the colourful and spectacular scene in all its brilliance. A carpeted platform was erected in front of the stage, which was banked with floral decorations.

In the centre of the table at which the president was to sit with the civic leaders was the silver casket containing the scroll conferring the freedom, a beautiful of Cork craftmanship.

Behind the table, the desks of the members of the Corporation were arranged in a semi-circle. In front of the platform was the centrepiece of the lavish decorations – a floral depiction of the Stars and Stripes, the work of the City Gardner Mr Denis Gallagher.

The Mayor of Limerick, Mrs Francis Condell, was among the huge gathering.

Occupying places of honour in the front of the auditorium were the religious heads: the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Most Rev. Dr Lucey, The Bishop of Cloyne, Most Rev Dr Ahern, the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Rt. Rev. Dr Perdue, and the Minister of the Cork Hebrew Congregation Rev MM Baddiel.

The Corporation did not forget its own staff, and included among the different sections who were present were the cleaners who had worked so hard in the previous days to prepare the spacious concert hall. Mr M Moroney, B.E., was responsible for the resplendent platform.

Heads and members of the various public bodies, the County Council and its subsidiary committees, high ranking military and garda officers were also present.

Occupying seats near the front were Rt. Rev. Mgr. M. O’Mahony, pastor of Palm Beach Florida church, where the Kennedy family worship and members of the presidential suite including congressmen.

City Hall Arrival

A roar resounding from outside the City Hall heralded the arrival of the motorcade. Outside, of the quaysides there were tremendous scenes of excitement, for as the president’s open car pulled up outside the entrance of the City Hall, the thousands who had been watching the procession through the centre of the city swarmed to vantage points around the focal point.

Within minutes the entire of Lapp’s Quay, opposite the City Hall, was solidly jammed with wildly-cheering people. Outside the cordons, at either end of City Hall, the people poured in on top of the scores of gardaí who stove manfully to prevent them breaking through.

On the rooftops they were perched and on the parapets on both Parnell and Clontarf Bridges, hundreds of men and youths hung precariously. To cope with any possible accidents from such a dangerous situation, lifeguards were in position on boats on the river between the bridges.

Standing ovation

The members of the Corporation, in their scarlet robes, were assembled on the City Hall steps and were introduced by the Lord Mayor to the president. As he made his way through the auditorium, a storm of cheering broke out as the huge attendance rose to its feet to acclaim the distinguished visitor applauding deliriously and waving their American hand flags.

On his way to City Hall, the president was introduced to a group of relatives from West Cork — Richard D Fitzpatrick, Richard P Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzpatrick.

The president greeted them warmly and expressed the hope that he would meet them again before he departed.

The proceedings began formally with the Town Clerk calling the roll of the Corporation members.

The Lord Mayor announced that this was a special meeting of the Corporation convened to confer the Freedom of the City on President Kennedy.

Meanwhile, the ever-swelling crowds in the vicinity of City Hall were impatiently awaiting the reappearance of the president. They began to chant “We want Jack” and when they saw the pressmen and photographers rushing out of City Hall they began to push forward and break through the police cordon.

Determined gardaí and more determined spectators scrummaged and while the police line held, a number of people succeeded in breaking through. These were amongst the enthusiastic group that mobbed the president who had attended a brief reception in the Lord Mayor’s room.

St John’s Ambulance Brigade and Red Cross workers treated a number of people who were hurt in the crush.

The president, in fact, nearly became a casualty. He tripped and fell back on his seat in his car, but quickly regained his feet and continued his now famous gesture of spontaneous hand-shaking as the motorcade made its way to Monaghan Road to reach his helicopter for his return flight to Dublin.

• Adpated from an article first published in the Cork Examiner June 29, 1963