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Here are five things about St. Patrick’s Day that you may not have known.
President John Kennedy greets his cousin Mary Ryan during
his official visit to Ireland in 1963. He met his distant relatives during the trip. (ZUMA Press/Newscom/File)
2. JFK forgot St. Patrick’s Day
You’d think the first Irish-American president would have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day like no other commander in chief, but it wasn’t so. When Ireland's ambassador to America, then Thomas Kiernan, met with President John Kennedy in the Oval Office 50 years ago, he presented the president with a bowl of shamrocks flown in from Ireland and a decorated scroll featuring the Kennedy coat of arms.
Kennedy was delighted with the gifts, but had forgotten it was St. Patrick’s Day until just before the meeting. A staffer had to rush to find him something green to wear, settling on a tie.
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