JFK's daughter and sister will use a torch lit from his gravesite flame to light an "emigrant flame" in Dublin.
DUBLIN — A torch lit from the eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy's graveside has arrived in Ireland ahead of ceremonies planned to mark the 50th anniversary of his 1963 visit.
The flame was flown from the United States and arrived Thursday in a specially designed miner's lamp identical to the one used to bring the Olympic flame from Athens to London last year.
Kennedy became the first American president to visit Ireland during his well-remembered four-day visit that celebrated the family's Irish roots.
On Saturday, his daughter Caroline Kennedy and his sister Jean Kennedy Smith will use the torch to light an "emigrant flame" in the town of New Ross.
Officials say the flame will symbolize the many emigrants, including JFK's great-grandfather, who left Ireland to start anew.
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| Getty Images: Maddie Meyer, The Washington Post. Lt. Col. Brendan Delaney pass a torch lit by the eternal flame in Arlington National Cemetery that will travel to Ireland in order to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of President Kennedy's Visit to Ireland. |
The flame was flown from the United States and arrived Thursday in a specially designed miner's lamp identical to the one used to bring the Olympic flame from Athens to London last year.
Kennedy became the first American president to visit Ireland during his well-remembered four-day visit that celebrated the family's Irish roots.
On Saturday, his daughter Caroline Kennedy and his sister Jean Kennedy Smith will use the torch to light an "emigrant flame" in the town of New Ross.
Officials say the flame will symbolize the many emigrants, including JFK's great-grandfather, who left Ireland to start anew.
