Village in Kildare to join in America 250 celebrations

Timahoe in Co Kildare is to join in celebrations to mark the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence.

The annivrsary will be commemorated across the United States and by Americans overseas on July 4th. The event, known as America 250, will be marked by special celebrations across all 50 states.

Ireland's Department of Culture, Communications and Sport is also commemorating the occasion and has initiated the Ireland America 250 Commemorative Programme.

This includes the American Presidents' Trail, which will link numerous sites across the country that claim ancestral connections to former U.S. presidents. Each designated location on the trail will feature a native tree-planting ceremony and an interpretive information panel.

Timahoe holds a unique place in U.S. presidential history as the ancestral home of President Richard Nixon. During his presidency in 1970, he famously visited the local Quaker burial ground to pay tribute to his ancestors, who emigrated from the area to Pennsylvania in 1729. To date, he is the only serving American president to visit an ancestral burial ground in Ireland.

Two years ago, the local St. Mochua Historical Society, based in Timahoe, initiated plans to erect an information panel at the burial ground and obtained funding from Kildare County Council. By coincidence, this was before the government's wider heritage plans were introduced.

The Historical Society has planned an extensive series of events on July 4th, commencing at 2.30pm. The program features a memorial oak tree planting in the Timahoe Quaker Burial Ground and the unveiling of a new information panel by Councillor Brendan Wyse, Cathaoirleach of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District.

Additional activities include cleaning the Nixon Memorial and other burial ground plaques, erecting local fingerpost signage in the area, and hosting a historical lecture on the Timahoe Quakers and their early life in America.

A member of the Society of Friends will be attending in an official capacity and will say a few words of thanks on behalf of the Society.

St. Mochua Historical Society acknowledges the assistance received from Ireland's Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, Kildare County Council, and particularly Mario Corrigan, Senior Executive Librarian, Kildare Library and Arts Services