Fiber Art in Galway’s Eyre Square - Galway (Céad Míle Fáilte)

During the summer of 2012 a monumental sculpture was resurfaced with fiber art in Galway’s Eyre Square, which is also known as Kennedy Park (see my previous blog).  The form of the original sculpture suggests the sails of a fishing boat in Galway bay. As indicated by a sign that is stretched on the back the bright patches and patterns of color were stitched by “134 children and their families…all to make you smile!”

A major initiative in the Republic of Ireland is to preserve and promote the Irish language through education and school (scoil).  Consequently, public signage is often in English and Irish. The Irish name for the city of Galway is Céad Míle Fáilte. Some areas, particularly on Ireland’s West Coast, are designated as Gaeltacht regions.  This indicates that Irish is the predominant language within the family home. Of course, it is also greatly appreciated that a “smile” may be a universal form of communication :-)

An American Profile in Ireland

The portrait-profile of John Fitzgerald Kennedy is unmistakable and easy to spot on the Eyre Square monument in Galway, Ireland.  The dedication on top of the monument is in the Irish language and English.

The translation commemorates President Kennedy as a “Freeman of Galway Borough at this place on 29^th June 1963.”  Unfortunately, it was in this same year of 1963 that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22 in Dallas, Texas. 

One of Kennedy’s most memorable statements, given during his 1961 inaugural address, was "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."  The legacy of JFK is archived in the:

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum http://www.jfklibrary.org

It is noted in the Kennedy Museum archives that the ancestral heritage of JFK traces to Ireland. In 1848, his great grandfather Patrick who lived in Wexford County, Ireland emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts. Today, millions of Americans can also trace some (or maybe all) of their family ancestors to Ireland.