There was almost no security. We even knew what time he was landing because his itinerary had been published in the papers. It’s hard to imagine nowWe had enormous admiration for John Kennedy,and I was fascinated that the son of an Irish exile could become president of America, but also that he had the same surname as my mother, and Honora Kennedy. The president’s people were from Dunganstown,County Wexford, in the south-east; my mother’s people were Kennedys from County Galway, and in the west. So when we found out his helicopter would be landing in Phoenix Park in Dublin,external the American embassy, we made an afternoon of it. I was a teacher at the Army Apprentice school and happened to possess a half-day, or I wanted to give Helen,my two-year-old daughter, a bit of a treat.
It was only a small crowd, and as it was a weekday afternoon. We waited approximately a quarter of an hour for him to land. You can see from the photo there was almost no security. We even knew what time he was landing in the park because his itinerary had been published in the papers. It’s hard to imagine now. When he got out of the helicopter,it was just a matter of dashing over to shake his hand.
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Source: theguardian.com