A CAPACITY audience gathered at Killarney House to hear presentations from five speakers on the life and connections of the McShain family during their occupation of the house from the 1950s to the 1990s.
Fascinating insights into the work of John McShain and others on the White House in Washington DC were also given at the gathering on Sunday morning.
The event was organised by the James Hoban Societies of the US and Ireland, which researche and promotes the life and times of Kilkenny-born James Hoban, the original architect and builder of the presidential mansion, in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Programme director Denis Bergin introduced the session by summarising the contribution of James Hoban and other Irish pioneers to the early development of Washington.
Killarney historian Conor Doolan reported on his research involving interviews with the many former employees and friends of the McShain family to give a snapshot of their lives as residents and benefactors of Killarney.
New York author Robert Klara, who has written a book on John McShain’s massive reconstruction of the White House in the years 1948-52, reported on his extensive interviews with Sr Pauline McShain, including her memories of driving with President Franklin Roosevelt in his specially adapted car during a family visit to his New York estate.
Historian Vincent Carmody told of the career of his Listowel-born relative Kathy Buckley, who served three US presidents as a cook in the White House, and who brought back many mementoes of her time there when she retired to her native place in the 1950s.
Architect Brian O’Connell traced the origins of the American Constitution to documents produced at the Confederation of Kilkenny in 1642 and noted how democratic principles had shaped the spaces used by parliaments from Robert Shee’s house in Kilkenny to the former Irish parliament house – now the Bank of Ireland – on College Green and the US Capitol in DC.
Killarney House manager Pat Dawson said he was very satisfied with the session which followed the official opening of the restored reception rooms at Killarney House on July 3. He said he hoped that the local connection to the McShains and America could be developed as the theme of an annual event.
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