Overview
In June 1963, at the height of his presidency, John F. Kennedy sat in this farmyard drinking tea with his cousin Mary Ryan and raised a toast to ‘all those Kennedys who went and all those Kennedys who stayed’. The farm is in Dunganstown, a quiet townland just south of New Ross on the River Barrow, and it’s still worked by the family Kennedy left behind. The Kennedy Homestead museum, built around the original buildings, is the reason to come.
The Kennedy Homestead
Patrick Kennedy was born here in 1823 and sailed for Boston during the Great Famine in 1848. His descendants kept the farm, and they farm it still. The homestead itself is a modest working farm, not a grand house – come for the story rather than the architecture.
The museum is a self-guided visit: a purpose-built centre of exhibits, family memorabilia and audio-visual displays, plus access to some of the original homestead buildings. It traces the Irish emigration experience, the family’s rise through American politics, and the day in June 1963 when the President came home. That visit is still a landmark in Irish-American history, and the centre is built around it.
Practical Information
The site has a coffee dock, a gift shop, a picnic area and free car and coach parking.
- Opening Hours: Daily, 9.30am to 5.30pm, with last admission at 5pm.
- Admission: Around €7.50 for adults, €6.50 for seniors and €6 for students at the time of writing – check ahead, as prices change. Joint tickets with the Dunbrody Famine Ship in New Ross are available and work out cheaper if you’re doing both.
- Accessibility: The visitor centre and its main exhibition areas are wheelchair accessible throughout.
- Getting There: Dunganstown is about 7-8 km south of New Ross on the R733, well signposted from the town. It’s rural, so a car (or taxi) is the practical way in.
Nearby Attractions
- John F. Kennedy Arboretum (10-minute drive) – a 600-acre park in the President’s memory, with over 4,500 species of trees and shrubs, walking trails and a hilltop viewpoint over the surrounding counties.
- Dunbrody Famine Ship (15-minute drive) – a full-scale replica of an 1840s emigrant ship on the New Ross quayside, with tours that lay out the reality of the crossing.
- Dunbrody Abbey (10-minute drive) – the ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian abbey, with a visitor centre and a hedge maze.
- New Ross (8-minute drive) – the medieval port town on the Barrow, home to the Dunbrody ship, the Ros Tapestry and a riverside walk.
If you’re visiting both the homestead and the Dunbrody ship, buy the joint ticket – it’s the cheaper way in, and the two together tell the emigration story from both ends.