Irish hidden gems: John F. Kennedy Arboretum
If you follow me on Instagram you could have noticed that I have been sharing my experience from John F. Kennedy Arboretum in County Wexford. If you don’t follow me you probably have lots of questions. As usual, keep reading and I will explain it all.
Ireland has lots to offer – from cities like Dublin, Galway or Cork through nature phenomenon Cliffs of Moher or crazy things like a little Statue of Liberty (I might dig out the photo for you one day).
Lots of tourists usually only visit Dublin and then go straight to west, to the cliffs and County Kerry. I don’t blame them for wanting to see the most well-known places especially if it’s a short and first trip. On another hand, they are missing some amazing places and hidden gems like the John F. Kennedy Arboretum.
What is Arboretum?
Arboretum is a botanic garden for trees. Basically it looks like a park with trees and bushes from all around the world.
John F. Kennedy Arboretum is located nearby New Ross in County Wexford. It was named after American president John F. Kennedy thanks to his Irish roots. Kennedy’s relatives were from New Ross.
Kennedy himself visited New Ross during summer 1963 (he was assassinated later that year). You can find a statue of Kennedy and a presidential speaking desk in New Ross. This arboretum was opened in 1968.
There is about 4,500 different types of trees and bushes in this arboretum. You can walk through the park on your own or take an advantage of one of the guided tours. The park is divided into sections and each section contains trees and bushes from a particular part of this world. All paths are well signed and there is a map all around the park.
Apart from this arboretum, New Ross with Kennedy statue and Dunbrody famine ship, there is also a house nearby where Kennedy’s relatives used to live. There is also a path leading from arboretum to the top of Slievecoiltie which gives you a nice view of the surroundings. We, however, were not aware of this before our visit and didn’t hike the hill. Next time then.
You will also notice that there are not many animals nor birds in the park. We only spotted some ducks and that was it.
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