Thomas Fitzgerald

Thomas Fitzgerald was the great grandfather of the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy (on his mother's side), President of the United States of America. He left Bruff  and emigrated to America in 1854.  He was born in Bruff, County Limerick in 1823. He was a farmer and though the Fitzgerald farm was affected by the Great famine, Thomas managed to keep it going until finally, in 1854, he was forced to leave Ireland and headed for the U.S. Like the Kennedy’s he also settled in Boston, Massachusetts and in 1857 married Rosanna Cox who had arrived in Boston from County Cavan, Ireland. One of their children, John Francis Fitzgerald (Honey Fitz), JFK’s grandfather, eventually became Mayor of Boston.