JFK 50 - The Homecoming - June 22nd

allthedoyles

Don't think it was ever meant to be a family day out - It was a sales promotion day for the town , and hopefully it worked .

It was media driven , and well done to all involved in this .

The large crowds were always going to be just onlookers , unless you were one of the lucky ones to have received that all important VIP pass .

allthedoyles

bmaxi

Looking at the coverage and bearing in mind that the (I presume) aim of this festival was to put New Ross in the public eye, both nationally and internationally, I'd have to say it failed dismally. I didn't see anything that would make me book my next holiday in the New Ross area or set up my home or business there. What I saw was Kenny and Kehoe telling the Kennedys what great guys they were and the Kennedys replying in kind, plus a few references to how they loved the place and how proud they were and the rest of the usual puke inducing stuff trotted out for the hoi polloi.
I have to admit that my opinions are slightly coloured by the fact that I've never been a fan of JFK, whose only significant contribution to history was, IMO, to get himself shot.
As is usual in event like thiss, the volunteers who give freely of their time and labour were largely ignored among the mutual self congratulation of the "VIPs".

oldyouth

bmaxi wrote: »

I've never been a fan of JFK, whose only significant contribution to history was, IMO, to get himself shot.

In fairness, as a keen adulterer, he let off a few shots of his own, most notably with Marilyn Monroe

Leo Demidov

allthedoyles wrote: »

Don't think it was ever meant to be a family day out - It was a sales promotion day for the town , and hopefully it worked .

It was media driven , and well done to all involved in this .

The large crowds were always going to be just onlookers , unless you were one of the lucky ones to have received that all important VIP pass .

If it was solely a media driven event, why was there so much local publicity, local press involvement including souvenier pullouts, A4 trifold flyers with pictures of smiling children holding baloons - was this all a ruse to get feet on the streets for hte cameras?

regarding the target blue rinse brigade, aside from the mediocre entertainment, what welfare facilities were in place for their specific requirements, a cream bun on the side of south street or a greasy burger eaten while standing in the middle of a dusty car park? Great way to entice people back to the town.

The ultimate long term success of the event can never be accurately measured as increased visitors may be purely due to the redevelopment of the quay front. Short term anectdotal evidence would suggest that alot of people went home unhappy with a protracted pile of drivel.

Squiggle

wexfjord wrote: »

That's a good one, i didn't enjoy myself because i didn't try hard enough? I too am glad that we weren't over run with cheap tat and tented enclaves but please do explain how one was to put in the day with a young family?

To say it wasn't marketed at particular groups is incorrect, they failed to deliver. End of. I would be the first to congratulate Michael Sheehan for all he has achieved but if an event that ultimately targets tourism can't entertain the citizens of the town for a few hours, how can you promote it as a tourist location.

Serioudly :eek: ? The Dundrody ship has been a resounding success tourist wise and the eternal flame will simply add to that. Many Americans regard the Kennedys as their Royal family and I think the ship, the flame, the revamped homestead and the JFK arboretum will draw tourists especially Americans. Saturday's events weren't that important for me, it's what happens from now on that matters. I drove along the quay several times yesterday and it was buzzing - the place looks lovely and it's great to see. Irish retail it's on it's knees and it's never been more important to attract tourists. Worldwide coverage on Sky news - not often you get that for the right reasons.

Leo Demidov

Squiggle wrote: »

Serioudly :eek: ? The Dundrody ship has been a resounding success tourist wise and the eternal flame will simply add to that. Many Americans regard the Kennedys as their Royal family and I think the ship, the flame, the revamped homestead and the JFK arboretum will draw tourists especially Americans. Saturday's events weren't that important for me, it's what happens from now on that matters. I drove along the quay several times yesterday and it was buzzing - the place looks lovely and it's great to see. Irish retail it's on it's knees and it's never been more important to attract tourists. Worldwide coverage on Sky news - not often you get that for the right reasons.

You mistakenly seem to think that I have a problem with the Famine Ship, THe Flame, The Homestead and The Arboretum? Please tell me where you got this impression from. I am merely stasting the case that Saturdays event was not a success for those who made it their business to spend the day in town but were left bitterly dissapointed with what was on offer. I have no doubt that it looked well on Sky News, my issue is that it totally underdelivered for the people on the ground.

On another note, the unplanned street closures, disruption to electrical supply and cordoning off of wheelie bins in the weeks preceeding the event did little to benefit downtown business.

Busted Flat.

allthedoyles wrote: »

New Ross frying pan.

bmaxi

oldyouth wrote: »

In fairness, as a keen adulterer, he let off a few shots of his own, most notably with Marilyn Monroe

Yes, hardly an achievement though, who didn't, including his brother? The joke doing the rounds at the time was that the public urinal on O'Connell St. had had less experience of pricks than Marilyn.

Squiggle

wexfjord wrote: »

You mistakenly seem to think that I have a problem with the Famine Ship, THe Flame, The Homestead and The Arboretum? Please tell me where you got this impression from. I am merely stasting the case that Saturdays event was not a success for those who made it their business to spend the day in town but were left bitterly dissapointed with what was on offer. I have no doubt that it looked well on Sky News, my issue is that it totally underdelivered for the people on the ground.

You also stated :

but if an event that ultimately targets tourism can't entertain the citizens of the town for a few hours, how can you promote it as a tourist location.

I don't think the entertainment or lack of it on Saturday will have any bearing on tourists visiting New Ross to see the JFK related offerings. Time will tell but New Ross is more of an attraction with the flame than without imo and with American tourists spending an average of €1000 on a visit to Ireland we need every one of them we can get our hands on, and New Ross in particular does.

Leo Demidov

So the sole purpose of Saturday was to nab Americans? Why lure the simple Paddy into town if he wasn't wanted. If I'm to be an extra in a tv charade, i would like to be paid for my time.

You're quoting my posts without putting them in context or referring to them directly, perhaps i sound do the same, we could have great fun. In any event, we went to Wexford town yesterday and spent all our money on tat and candy floss. There were no barricades keeping me out of empty car parks, there was culture, entertainment, frivolous larking about. They delivered everything promised in their promotional material for the John Barry memorial and most importantly, they took my hard earned euro.

Leo Demidov

Btw, there were numerous tourists in the town all over the weekend, there was nothing for them to do! Again i would like to congratulate those involved for all that was done well, i just think they missed a couple of opportunities.

Judgement Day

I'm a big fan of JFK, even have a framed print of the great man on on the kitchen mantlepiece - "Ask Not" etc., - and that's one of the reasons that I stayed away from New Ross. If I want to see wasters like Paul Kehoe I only have to walk a few hundred yards from where I live to his office. The Dunbrody 'replica' famine ship doesn't float my boat - sorry - and is best viewed from a passing bus. Seen one replica, seen them all.

As for JFK being famous solely for his 'friendship' with Marilyn Monroe.....I would have thought his handling of the Cuban missile crisis would be more noteworthy. If some of his hardline military men had had their way I doubt any us would be here today.

eagerv

allthedoyles wrote: »

I went to have a look at the flame yesterday evening.

A few thoughts went through my simple mind!

What happens if someone, possibly a child, gets burnt? The surround has very large gaps. The flame is quite large and blows widely.

Will the flame blow out in a storm?

How much gas does it use? Is it shut down regularly for maintenance?

I thought the town looked really well. Well done all involved.

Leo Demidov

Agreed, the town did look very well.

bmaxi

Judgement Day wrote: »

As for JFK being famous solely for his 'friendship' with Marilyn Monroe.....I would have thought his handling of the Cuban missile crisis would be more noteworthy. If some of his hardline military men had had their way I doubt any us would be here today.

The U.S. were out thought, outmanoeuvred and ultimately outsmarted during the Cuban crisis, they went from a situation of making threats and demands on the USSR to one of quid pro quo and this from a position of overwhelming military power which the USSR could not have overcome. Kruschev bluffed and Kennedy blinked, hardly a glorious moment in U.S. history and all from a crisis of the Kennedy administration's own making.

Busted Flat.

bmaxi wrote: »

The U.S. were out thought, outmanoeuvred and ultimately outsmarted during the Cuban crisis, they went from a situation of making threats and demands on the USSR to one of quid pro quo and this from a position of overwhelming military power which the USSR could not have overcome. Kruschev bluffed and Kennedy blinked, hardly a glorious moment in U.S. history and all from a crisis of the Kennedy administration's own making.

In a film about the Mafia, the head honcho said to one of his sidekicks, who had an affair which was causing him some trouble,"A man is born with two heads one big and one small, you let the big one do the thinking" That is the problem all the Kennedy's had, they all done their thinking through their small head.

Conas

For all the praise there was for JFK on Saturday, no one will ever touch on his assassination. It's to be expected, because most people are afraid to.The people of New Ross and the Kennedy family. I'll praise JFK and his brother Robert Kennedy for being two of the bravest people ever in American politics, who were willing to take on the real evil in America that still exists today; The Federal Reserve, The Military Industrial Complex, and the CIA.

There's no doubt in my mind that JFK and his brother were murdered as part of a conspiracy. Powerful people wanted the Vietnam war to happen, and JFK wasn't going to give it to them. He had plans to withdraw 1000 advisors by the end of 63, followed by a full withdrawal by 1965. That's reason one for having him killed.

On June the 4th, a few weeks before his Irish trip, Kennedy issued Executive order 11110. Executive Order 11110 was signed with the authority to basically strip the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the United States Federal Government at interest. With the stroke of a pen, President Kennedy declared that the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank would soon be out of business. JFK was a big fan of Abraham Lincoln, and I'm sure he knew well what Lincoln tried to do to pay for the Civil War. He too stood up to the bankers who were demanding high interest rates. President Lincoln needed money to finance the Civil War, and the international bankers offered him loans at 24-36% interest. Lincoln balked at their demands because he didn't want to plunge the nation into such a huge debt. Lincoln approached Congress about passing a law to authorize the printing of U.S. Treasury Notes. Lincoln said "We gave the people of this Republic the greatest blessing they ever had - their own paper money to pay their debts..." Lincoln printed over 400 million "Greenbacks" (debt and interest-free) and paid the soldiers, U.S. government employees, and bought war supplies. The international bankers didn't like it and wanted Lincoln to borrow the money from them, so that the American people would owe tremendous interest on the loan. Lincoln's solution made this seem ridiculous. Shortly after Lincoln's death, the government revoked the Greenback law which ended Lincoln's debt-free, interest-free money. A new national banking act was enacted and all currency became interest-bearing, debt instruments, again.

Kennedy and Lincoln stood up to the bankers, and paid for it with their lives.

Then there was the famous Bay Of Pigs disaster in the first few days of JFK's presidency, in which JFK had felt the CIA had lied to him. After it, he fired 3 top officials in the CIA, and threatened to splinter it into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the wind. Then after his assassination Lyndon B Johnson hired a man he had fired from the CIA, Allen Dulles, to be on the botched Warren Commission. Suprise, Suprise.

I hope after 50 years we might finally get the truth. The CIA were involved in the assassination, and they still laugh about it to this day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpRiQleaBkQ

bmaxi

Wow! A conspiracy theory on the Kennedy assassination, now there's a novelty

allthedoyles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy4h01FDF8o

allthedoyles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhjQsucLGd8

allthedoyles

Busted Flat. wrote: »

Who pays for the gas.

Its been reported in this weeks local newspaper , that the cost of running will be in the region of €4348 per annum or around €12 per day .

A small price to pay considering the tourism boost , that this is going to bring to the South-East .

Busted Flat.

allthedoyles wrote: »

Its been reported in this weeks local newspaper , that the cost of running will be in the region of €4348 per annum or around €12 per day .

A small price to pay considering the tourism boost , that this is going to bring to the South-East .

Who came up with those figures, the professional's in the financial community.
They too had great good projections, we know what that result was.

vicwatson

It's gone out at least once already hasn't it??

Busted Flat.

allthedoyles wrote: »

Its been reported in this weeks local newspaper , that the cost of running will be in the region of €4348 per annum or around €12 per day .

A small price to pay considering the tourism boost , that this is going to bring to the South-East .

Will they be entitled to the winter fuel allowance.

allthedoyles

Busted Flat. wrote: »

Will they be entitled to the winter fuel allowance.

Cutbacks won't allow , but if the Town Council run out of funds , sure we can have a collection after mass some Sunday

Busted Flat.

allthedoyles wrote: »

Cutbacks won't allow , but if the Town Council run out of funds , sure we can have a collection after mass some Sunday

As I posted earlier, it is like a frying pan, maybe some of the homeless can have a gathering there at breakfast time.

vicwatson

allthedoyles wrote: »

Cutbacks won't allow , but if the Town Council run out of funds , sure we can have a collection after mass some Sunday

Mass?

Town Council?

Neither will exist in about 2-3 years:P

Judgement Day

^^^^^ Such a cynic.