JFK's Bruff connections

Thomas Fitzgerald

Thomas Fitzgerald was JFK�s great grandfather on his mother�s side. He was reportedly born in Bruff, County Limerick in 1823. He was a farmer and so probably lived in a rural part of the Parish or Townland of Bruff, but the exact location is unknown.

The map on the left shows the town of Bruff, which lies at the heart of the Parish and Townland of the same name, as it was in 1840.

Although 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.