Presidential election, the GAA, Trump and more discussed at Kennedy Summer School

Four days of performance, debate on Irish politics, culture and history have come to a close in the town of New Ross, as another annual chapter of the Kennedy Summer School wraps up.

The Kennedy Summer School festival continues to expand, and kicked off this year with the Global Horizons Trade and Economic forum last Wednesday evening in the Brandon House Hotel, covering a wide range of topics from tariffs to corporation tax, the problems facing the EU in terms of competitiveness and the opportunities and challenges posed by AI.

One of the most popular events of the festival this year was the tea-party, recreating the tea-party hosted for JFK at the Kennedy Homestead in Dunganstown during his visit in 1963.

This year’s guest was RTÉ broadcaster Seán O’Rourke, who in a lively conversation with former TD Seán Connick, brought guests through the Haughey years and recalled some of his most important interviews including one with the late Brian Lenihan Jnr. 

Also at the tea-party was Anna Sinnott, who shared a photo of herself alongside President Kennedy at Dunganstown in June 1963, and told her heartwarming story to the audience.

The discussions moved to St. Michael’s Theatre on Thursday evening, where the festival was officially opened by Uachtarán Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, GAA President Jarlath Burns.

Thursday concluded with a screening of ‘From That Small Island’, a 90-minute documentary film telling the history of Ireland and its people from Rathlin man to the present day. 

It was announced on the night that the film had been accepted as an official selection for the prestigious Newport Beach Film Festival in Southern California. 

During a panel discussion about the making of the film, local woman, Bríona, was presented with a hand-turned ash bowl by the Cathaoirleach of New Ross Municipal District, John Dwyer.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, James Lawless, was the guest at the Speakers’ Lunch at the Arboretum on Friday. 

As rumours circulated about the possibility of former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin running for Fianna Fáil in the upcoming Presidential election, Minister Lawless took many by surprise by becoming the first senior Fianna Fáil figure to endorse that Áras bid, saying “Jim Gavin is exactly what we need to represent us”.

Back in the theatre that evening, journalists from both sides of the Atlantic debated the value of local journalism in a discussion moderated by Southeast Radio’s Alan Corcoran.

Colm Tóibín was the subject of the Noel Whelan interview, and in a funny and poignant chat, he talked about living in Trump’s America.

"The big danger is he won’t stop’, he said, "the only way to stop him is through elections".

This was a theme which continued in the "Trump and the rest of us" panel, chaired by RTÉ’s Tony Connelly. 

There was talk about the continuing war in Ukraine, the new normal under President Trump, the concerns around Project 25 and the risk of a global financial crisis as a result of the ever-changing tariff regime. 

Day three featured debates on housing, the changing face of Irish America and the race for the Áras.

Special Guest Jim Acosta stole the show in the afternoon as he recalled his time as Chief White House Correspondent at CNN and his run-ins with President Trump. 

Looking ahead to the mid-term elections next year, he warned that President Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election after the results came, this time he’s trying to rig the election before it takes place.

During the festival, all eyes were on the Presidential Panel and how prospective Fianna Fáil candidate Billy Kelleher would react to the breaking news from Kerry that the Taoiseach had come out in favour of former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin’s candidacy.

US Ambassador Edward Walsh closed the Summer School for another year, saying: “President Kennedy says we should not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer… schools like this exist to explore the Irish answer and the American answer in pursuit of resolving some of the world's most difficult conflicts.” 

New Ross and Wexford dance and music were to the fore, and the audience was wowed with a performance of ‘Putting on the Ritz’ by the Wexford Academy of Irish Dancers. 

The school officially came to a close with a rousing rendition of the ‘Boys of Wexford’ by the New Ross and District Pipe Band.