The 6th annual Kennedy Sumer School opens in New Ross on Thursday and the good news for the organisers is that 1,300 tickets have sold out for the three-day festival which is estimated to be worth €225,000 to the local economy.
“We are sold out in advance which is testament to the excellent and relevant line-up of speakers secured for the programme,’’ said William Kielthy, Summer School Chairman.

KERRY KENNEDY, daughter of Bobby Kennedy, will open Kennedy Summer School in New Ross.

The event will be officially opened by Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Bobby Kennedy, and President of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation.
A few free events remain, including an expert panel discussion on the future of higher education in Ireland chaired by Professor Tom Collins at 11 am on Thursday.
It is a free event but places are limited and must be booked in advance.
Another free event will feature Gerard Doherty, former Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, 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.
Doherty will also sit down with internationally renowned historian and the biographer Professor Richard Aldous for what be a must-see free event for all Kennedy aficionados, as they discuss the Camelot era in a public interview at New Ross Library on Thursday at 6 pm.