Rachel Allen and Brendan Grace are teaming up to re-create the more famous Tea Party in Ireland’s history, as they will recreate the Kennedy Tea Party this September 6th during the annual Kennedy Summer School.
Guests will be treated to an array of sweet delights made by the experts at Ballymaloe including Butterfly buns, miniature meringues with strawberries and cream, gingerbread, sweet white scones with raspberry jam and cream, lemon drizzle cake, salted cameral cupcakes and of course a traditional fruit cake, which is what President John F. Kennedy along with his sisters Eunice Shriver and Jean Kennedy-Smith were served by his cousin Mary Ryan during his visit in 1963.
During his visit, the President cuts a slice of the cake, which he ends up giving to Mary Ryan, his second cousin once-removed. He thanks her and her friends for doing all of the cooking and offers a toast, “a cup of tea to all the Kennedys who went and all the Kennedys who stayed”.
At the 2018 Tea Party, Rachel Allen will be on hand to discuss the sweet delights on offer to guests and the top tips for hosting a tea party. Comedian and transatlantic entertainer Brendan Grace will be on hand providing entertainment during the afternoon.
Commenting on the upcoming tea party, Rachel Allen says, “I’m delighted to host the Kennedy Summer School Tea Party this year. It was such an iconic occasion and a real tangible piece of Ireland’s social and hospitality history; welcoming family home into the kitchen regardless of their status for tea and cake is something that will always be synonymous with a warm Irish welcome. We look forward to welcoming lots of guests to the 2018 Kennedy Tea Party to sample many delicious sweet treats and to enjoy our hospitality.”
Tea Party tickets are now available at €15 tickets see kennedysummerschool.ie or call St. Michael’s Theatre on 051 421255.
The annual Kennedy Summer School is set to host a number of expert discussions and is billed as ‘A Festival of Irish and American, History, Politics and Culture’. There will be over 40 guest speakers will participate in debates on a wide range of subjects with current U.S. politics, the final phase of Brexit negotiations and the recent Referendum to Repeal the 8th Amendment featuring prominently from September 6th to 8th 2018.
Highlights include audiences with American human rights activist and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy; American Presidential campaign strategist for John McCain, John Kasich and of and George H.W Bush, Mr. John Weaver, a sit down interview with Miriam O’Callaghan; the Kennedy Speaker’s Lunch’ will see EU Commissioner Phil Hogan give his update take on Brexit; Gerard Doherty former Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party will present his book “They were friends of mine, Bobby, Jack and Ted” to the John F. Kennedy Book and Research Archive at New Ross Library along with a number of Politicians, News correspondents and leading global academics who will all join in the discussions billed for the annual Kennedy Summer School and a special screening of Greg Barker’s fly-on-the-wall documentary about Barrack Obama’s final year in office will take place, followed by a skype interview with Samantha Power the former US Ambassador to the United Nations.
For further details and event tickets see kennedysummerschool.ie or call St. Michael’s Theatre on 051 421255