President John F. Kennedy’s St. Patrick’s Day Letter to a Young Boy, Showing His Love of His Heritage and Ireland

“My "little people" are very small, wear tall black stovepipe hats, green coats and pants, and have long, white beards. They do not have horses...They are most friendly, and their message is that all the peoples of the world should live in peace".

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He was so touched by the boy’s letter, that he showed it to close friends Kenny O’Donnell and Dave Powers

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the first Irish-Catholic president, was a son of two families whose roots stretched back to Ireland. He relished his Irish heritage. During President Kennedy’s historic visit to Ireland in...

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President John F. Kennedy’s St. Patrick’s Day Letter to a Young Boy, Showing His Love of His Heritage and Ireland

“My "little people" are very small, wear tall black stovepipe hats, green coats and pants, and have long, white beards. They do not have horses...They are most friendly, and their message is that all the peoples of the world should live in peace".

He was so touched by the boy’s letter, that he showed it to close friends Kenny O’Donnell and Dave Powers

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the first Irish-Catholic president, was a son of two families whose roots stretched back to Ireland. He relished his Irish heritage. During President Kennedy’s historic visit to Ireland in June 1963, he remarked to the people of New Ross: “When my great grandfather left here to become a cooper in East Boston, he carried nothing with him except two things: a strong religious faith and a strong desire for liberty. I am glad to say that all of his great-grandchildren have valued that inheritance.” On display in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, is the Fitzgerald family Bible brought from Ireland by Kennedy’s mother’s forebears. A clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court held that bible as he took his oath of office as 35th President of the United States on January 20, 1961.

Kennedy felt a kinship with those of Irish descent, saying, “All of us of Irish descent are bound together by the ties that come from a common experience; experience which may exist only in memories and in legend, but which is real enough to those who possess it.” During his White House years, he received the President of Ireland, Éamon de Valera, who gave Caroline a pony – and it was promptly named “Leprechaun.”

Kenny O’Donnell and Dave Powers were close friends and aides to Kennedy who wrote a book on his life, “Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye”.  It discussed, among other things, Kennedy’s writing habits.  “President Kennedy spent a considerable amount of time personally answering letters picked at random from the enormous mail received at the White House addressed to him from private citizens. Letters to the President averaged around five thousand a day. Every fiftieth letter was pulled from the pile and sent to his office. Frequently he wandered into the mail room and took a few letters from the sacks, carried them to his desk, and read them. If the writer was seeking help on a personal problem concerning a government agency, the President would send the letter to that office or to a staff member, requesting an inquiry into the matter and an immediate reply. More often, he wrote an answer himself, had it typed by Evelyn Lincoln, and then added a handwritten postscript before having it mailed.”

The book continued, “Kennedy was proud of his Irish heritage. Early in March that year the President showed us a letter that he had received from a youngster [Mark Aaron Perdue] in Fremont, California, who had evidently been giving some thought to the approaching Saint Patrick’s Day, and apparently was aware of Kennedy’s Irish ancestry.”

“I like you very much,” the letter read.  ”I am in special class in Fremont, California. I am 10 years old. Where do the little people live? Do they live under bushes? Do they have horses? Can only the Irish see them? Can you see them?”

The letter touched Kennedy, and he personally responded. Typed letter signed, on White House letterhead, Washington, to Mark, March 14, 1963.  “I want to thank you for your nice letter. I enjoyed hearing from you and hearing about your school.  Your questions are quite pertinent, coming as they do just before St. Patrick’s Day. There are many legends about the ‘little people,’; but what they all add up to is this: If you really believe, you will see them.  My ‘little people’ are very small, wear tall black stovepipe hats, green coats and pants, and have long, white beards. They do not have horses. I have never been able to determine where they live. They are most friendly, and their message is that all the peoples of the world should live in peace and friendship.  Since you are interested in the Irish, I want to wish you a happy St. Patrick’s Day.  With every good wish to you and your brothers, Chris and David.”

A letter of Kennedy wishing someone a happy Saint Patrick’s Day is really an extraordinary rarity. But it shows so much more about the man – his kindness, and the twinkling sense of humor for which he was so famous. No other letter we have seen projects these character traits this well – it shows the essence of the man. In fact, this letter was reported in newspapers at the time, and is cited in many books to show JFK’s humor and generosity.

That St. Patrick’s day would be Kennedy’s last. As O’Donnell and Powers continued, “Saint Patrick’s Day was always a special occasion for all of the Kennedys. The President spent his last Saint Patrick’s Day in 1963 with his father at Palm Beach.  The President, Bobby, and Dave Powers were at a small party in his home during the evening. When the President and Dave sang ‘The Wearin’ of the Green,’ the Ambassador was smiling happily, but when they came to the last line of the stirring old patriotic song – ‘They’re hanging men and women for the wearin’ of the green’ – his eyes were filled with tears.”

Kennedy visited Ireland 5 times in his life. As his wife Jackie recalled, “It wasn’t just a sentimental journey. Ireland meant much more, he had always been moved by its poetry and literature because it told of the tragedy and desperate courage which he knew lay just under the surface of Irish life. The people of Ireland had faced famine and disease, and had fought oppression and died for independence. They dreamed and sang and wrote and thought and were gay in the face of all their burdens.”

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