At Shannon Airport President Kennedy expresses his thanks to the President, the Taoiseach and the people of Ireland for the welcome he has received. In his farewell address he quotes lines from a poem Sinéad de Valera had mentioned the previous night and states that he will return to see “old Shannon’s face again”.

President Kennedy is escorted to Air Force 1 with similar ceremony to when he had arrived in Dublin four days earlier. There is a 21-gun salute as the band plays the American National Anthem. As President Kennedy boards the plane, he gives one final salute to the officials and waves to the cheering crowd.

This extract is taken from ‘Welcome Mr. President’, a compilation of highlights from President Kennedy’s visit to Ireland which was broadcast on 28 July 1963 with commentary by Pádraig Ó Raghallaigh.

The event itself was broadcast live on 29 June 1963.

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