The nation and much of the world will pause on Wednesday, November 22 to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Sixty was a milestone that JFK himself never reached. He was just 46 when he was gunned down in Dallas.
The president rests under an eternal flame at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Kennedy's memory also rests in hearts and minds across America, in far flung corners of the world and, of course, in Ireland.
The Kennedy family, as we all know, is a big one. It is both privileged and burdened by history. A number of family members have, over the years, honored President Kennedy's memory with their work and commitment to public service.
The family has given to the nation members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, diplomats and advocates, business men and women, and possible future leaders at the state and national level.
One in the latter category is Joseph Kennedy III, grand nephew of President Kennedy and President Biden's Special Envoy to Northern Ireland.
President Kennedy would have been proud and supportive of this renewed family commitment to the island that he saw as a second home, an island that he wanted to set foot in again after his historic June, 1963 visit.
That was not to be. But many on the island will remember the president this week; remember a leader of the free world whose family story was rooted in a land which, by virtue of turbulent history, knew well the unlimited value of freedom.
