St. Patrick’s Day Book Launch Celebration
Monday, March 15th at 2:00pm EST, 6:00pm Ireland on Zoom
Join the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Consulate General of Ireland in Boston, and Embassy of Ireland, USA for a virtual 2021 St. Patrick’s Day celebration with Taoiseach Micheál Martin. The program will honor the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Friends of Ireland in Congress by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and others and celebrate the launch of “From Whence I Came: The Kennedy Legacy, Ireland and America,” a collection of essays edited by Brian Murphy and Donnacha Ó Beacháin.
The celebration will feature a conversation on the current state of Irish-American affairs with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Dr. Robert Mauro, Executive Director of the Irish Institute at Boston College. Dr. Mauro will then moderate a conversation on the Kennedy legacy and Ireland with:
• The Honorable Richard Neal, Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
• The Honorable Joe Kennedy III, former Massachusetts Congressman
• Dr. Alison Meagher, Deputy Consul General of Ireland in Shanghai and author of the chapter “Ted Kennedy: Distant Peacemaker” in “From Whence I Came”
• Ambassador Samantha Power, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and Professor of Practice, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Law School
In memory of Noel Whelan, all royalties from the book are being donated to the New Ross Community Hospital, a registered Irish charity run by a voluntary board of directors. Since its establishment in 1989, the New Ross Community Hospital has provided a 24-hour care facility for people who need long-term or short-term care and non-acute medical care. You can purchase a copy of “From Whence I Came: The Kennedy Legacy, Ireland and America” here.
This program will be held on Zoom and registrants for the program will receive a webinar link via email. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Irish Government Emigrant Support Programme.
About the Book
Elected in 1960 as the 35th President of the USA, John Fitzgerald Kennedy remains to this day the office’s youngest incumbent and he was its first Roman Catholic. His term in office was short, but arguably no US President has inspired more people around the globe than JFK. Even today, for generations born decades after his death, President Kennedy’s legacy has an enduring appeal.
This insightful book contains specially commissioned pieces by a range of respected academic and political figures, including former Obama speechwriter, Cody Kennan, the President of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation, Kerry Kennedy, and former senior adviser to Bernie Sanders, Tad Devine.
With the presidency of Joe Biden seeing a renewed focus on broader themes within Irish, American and global politics, From Whence I Came is a fascinating and timely collection that offers a fresh perspective on the Kennedy legacy and the politics of Ireland and the United States.
From Whence I Came (288 pages) is published by Merrion Press and is available in paperback from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
About the Editors
Brian Murphy lectures at the Technological University Dublin. He holds a PhD in Modern Irish History from University College Dublin and is the author of Forgotten Patriot: Douglas Hyde and the Foundation of the Irish Presidency and Brian Lenihan: In Calm and Crisis (co-editor). He was Co-Director of the Kennedy Summer School from 2016-2018. Donnacha Ó Beacháin is Professor of Politics at Dublin City University. His books include Destiny of the Soldiers: Fianna Fáil, Irish Republicanism and the IRA 1926-1973, Political Communication in Ireland (co-editor), and From Partition to Brexit: The Irish Government and Northern Ireland (2018).
About the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate is dedicated to educating the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encouraging participatory democracy, invigorating civil discourse, and inspiring the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities.
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