The History of The Irish...Worldwide
President Down: Where Were You When the Shots Rang Out?
What are your recollections of November 22, 1963, when news emerged of President John F. Kennedy's assassination?
I'm of a younger generation, born more than a decade after JFK's death, but I'm always enthralled by the vivid memories of people who were around on that day and their abilities to recall exactly where they were and what they were doing.
Tags: JFK, News, United States
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Gerry Regan on
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Kathleen, thank you for sharing this. It's poignant hearing about such emotion right at the surface for you and your classmates. I don't remember tears in my circle, but I may have forgotten. My 4th grade class then was half boys, and half girls.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh Camillus McFadden on
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I was in a cinema in Abbey Street, Dublin, Ireland called The Adelphi Cinema, on that evening of November 22, 1963, watching a movie called 'The Days of Wine and Roses, starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. Half-way through the film, at a very dramatic moment when the alcoholic character played by Jack Lemmon was frantically searching for a bottle of liquor that he had hidden in a large glasshouse, the lights in the cinema were turned on full and the movie cut out. The cinema's manager walked out onto the stage amd announced: "Ladies & gentlemen, I have some shocking news for you. President Kennedy has been shot and rushed to hospital. We don't know yet how serious his injuries are, or whether he is still alive" Then he apologised for breaking into the showing of the film and said that he thought we would like to know about this tragic event. The lights were dimmed again and the film resumed. It was only when we left the cinema an hour or so later that we learnt from newspaper boys selling special editions of the evening papers that JFK was dead. ..
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I'm struck at how I'm reliving the emotions of the day as I read these recollections. Thank you for sharing this, Hugh. I remember the Adelphi from my year in Trinity College, in 1973-74.
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I was in 2nd grade at St. Vincents in Corning, NY. We were sent home. I only remember walking in the door to see my mother bent over in her chair in front of the TV with her face in her hands sobbing. Makes me well up just to remember...
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Such an epic, hugely tragic moment in so many lives! Very sad, indeed!
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Permalink Reply by Mary Anne Hickey on
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I was working at Tullira castle near Gort in co, Galway Lord and Lady Hempill lived there , Edward Martain
built the castle and they added on, Edward started stain glass on Dublin
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I WAS WORKING IN A CASTLE IN CO, GALWAY , A BIG PARTY AFTER THE FOX HUNT, WHEN THE LORD CAME TO TELL US WE ALL JUST LAUGHED HE SOON SET US STRIGHT,,THE PARTY ENDED IT WAS SUCH A SAD DAY WE ALL SAT AND STARTED TO CRY,,MY MOM HAD NOT HEARD SO I WENT HOME IN THE DARK ON MY BIKE ALL THE FAMILY GOT OUT OF BED THEY WERE UPSET FOR DAYS, WE ALL WENT TO CHURCH THE NEXT DAY TO PRAY FOR THE FAMILY
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Mary Anne, thank you for sharing this most interesting set of moments. Where were you working, if you're comfortable sharing?
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Permalink Reply by Dr.RobertTerranceMullaneIII on
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This day always brings me sorrow. It is especially tragic that after 50 years, our government will not come clean about ALL the 'covert' assassinations it has committed since 1963. RFK, MLK, and God only knows what all else. Most Americans know in their souls, their minds; what really happened. These outright murders in cold blood, have never been explained away by the obvious lame 'facts' which were foisted upon U.S. It's a rude insult to expect any thinking person to accept their half baked explanations; be it the Warren Commission or any other string of nonsense-mongers.
Jack we hardly knew ye!
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Where were you when you got the news about JFK, Robert?
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I was in Catholic grade school being beaten almost daily by some mean old nuns. I did get a first-rate education and study habits which lasted me a lifetime, however. I grew up hard and tough.
When we were dismissed, I went home to watch the endless replays of JFK getting his head blown clean off. I was only eleven then, but in retrospect, I was incredulous to what a sham it all was, even then. This came to me as a shock, slowly, especially when Oswald was quickly dispatched by the strip-club owner, Ruby. 'Twas all too convenient, really. Over the following decades, and tons of reading everything, nothing has convinced me yet. Then, the others fell who were all connected. There was a strange power struggle back then. 'Bobby' once remarked about all the hatred during those years. He was right. Whoever they really are, saved him for last. RFK walked in Kings funeral procession, when only months later he died just like the others.
Years later, I was nominated as delegate to the dems convention, and I voted for Teddy in the Michigan caucus in 1980. Later, I worked for Joe Kennedy when I was a grad student at Boston College in 1986. My life seems inextricably connected to the Kennedys! I still find it difficult to write or speak about those Greek-tragedy years of tumultuous radical changes. There was a definite class war. America remains as segregated as ever; by race, housing, income disparity... you name it. This is precisely why I'm moving to Ireland asap with my family. I want to claim my citizenship and settle in the Cork countryside, to live my twilight years in peace. Even the city I grew up in has become overwhelmed with refugees since the death of Detroit. This was once a relatively homogenous town. Now, I must plan my shopping and errand forays according to the traffic swarms; not too unlike the many years I lived on the east coast, Providence, and boston respectively.
So, now you know a bit more about my ontology and history, Gerry. Don't get me started; ;-)... Ha ha haaa! I have thoughts. I am an author and artist; born this way; no excuses. Thank you for asking. When I get to Cork, I'll by ye a Guinness; okay!? First, I must find the other Mullane relatives. My old fella knew them. He left there last in '82-3. God rest his kind soul... Robert II
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Permalink Reply by Brian Nolan on
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Shooting the Messenger!
So...50 years ago, today, I was just 7, and was playing by myself in our back-yard on Main Street, Loughrea Town ('cause no one would play with me), hitting a tennis ball with my hurley against the big wooden gate that closed off our yard from the street. My brother Paul had numbered the squares on the gate, assigning scores to each target, the smaller the square, the bigger the score. I was aceing the hard-to-hit-for-a-seven-year-old #3 target that was the wicket gate, when the window above me opened up, in what was Sweeneys Grocery then, but now is AIB Bank. Gerry Sweeney popped his head out, a mass of ginger hair, animated, 'JFK has been shot' he roared, before slamming the window shut. I had no idea what this utterance meant, but given the nature of its delivery, felt obliged to drop the hurley and dash into our Kitchen, where mum and dad and who knows how many of my 6 siblings were having their tea (supper, whatever) and waiting for the 6 o'clock news to come on the warmed-up wireless, after the Angelus, that was chiming away sonorously amid the clack and clatter of cups and saucers and spoons. I blurted out Gerry's news, 'JFK has been shot' to be met by incredulous stares and the rebuke, 'Shut up, the news is only coming on, what would you know about JFK, sure wasn't he just in Eyre Square a couple a months ago, shot??? Shure who would shoot a man like that, shame on you for your wicked imagination, go up those stairs to your room, what a thing to say, shhh, here's the news just coming on now...get, get you up those stairs, and don't come down until you have had a long think about what trouble telling lies gets you, boyo, ...pass the milk Clare please, shush, whisth, ...what's that they just said?.. JFK, Oh my God......!'
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