Previously unpublished jfk photographs stored in kinnitty

Remarkable previously unpublished photographs of US President John F Kennedy’s 1963 visit to Ireland have been stored in a house in Kinnitty for decades.

The pictures, taken just five months before the President’s assassination in Dallas in November 1963, were captured by the former Director of Astronomy at Birr Castle, William ‘Bill’ Dumpleton, who passed away in 2005.

The photographs were stored along with pictures of Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, which Bill had taken during their visits to Ireland.

Bill, a Dublin native, was a lecturer in astronomy who worked in Dunsink Observatory. He was invited to lecture in schools in Offaly by Lord Rosse in the early 1980s and ended up settling in Kinnitty. His son Liam, who recently moved from Kinnitty to Tullamore, rediscovered the old the photographs while moving house.

Although he was an astronomer, “by love and by hobby he was a photographer,” Liam explained. He was aware that his late father had taken the pictures but he hadn’t seen them in some time. “I have all of his photographs and negatives, I always knew they were there,” Liam  explained.

Liam said his father would have been “a good blagger” and this had helped him get close to celebrities. “He followed Kennedy from the time he came off the plane,” Liam explained.

Incredibly one of the pictures is believed to have been taken from inside President Kennedy’s limousine outside Arbour Hill in Dublin. Liam recalled his father telling him how he had jumped into the front passenger seat of the President’s Lincoln and taken the photograph.

“He always told me Kennedy nearly had a stroke,” Liam remarked. Bill was quickly dragged from the front seat by an undercover garda but no further action was taken.

In a modern context, Bill’s exploits would likely see a person behind bars. However, Liam explained that it was different in those days and his father would attend an event whenever he heard someone of note was in Dublin.  

Bill was a well known character in Ireland through his work in astronomy and was a regular contributor to RTÉ and in newspapers. On one occasion, Liam recalled how Bill even had the opportunity to interview the king of Jordan on radio.

He carried a camera wherever he went, not only for his work in astronomy, but also for the love of it, said Liam. If a comet or noteworthy celestial event was due to occur, Liam said his father would ring the airport and charter two planes to fly people above the clouds in order to photograph and document the phenomena.

During his time in Dublin, Bill would to take photographs of any celebreties who visited. “He used to always say to me the worst anyone can say to me is say no,” Liam remarked.

In 1965 he attended Dublin airport when he learned Bing Crosby was visiting at the invitation of George O’Reilly. Bill managed to get onto the runway and he took more photographs during a later media interview.

Speaking about his father’s photographs, Liam said “they were never published, which is a shame because they are lovely pictures.”