The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963, sent shockwaves around the world. But outside of the United States, few countries could have felt the emotional impact of the assassination more than Ireland, as the President had visited this country only months before, in June, 1963.

On one of the ceremonies he attended during that visit to these shores, he had been hugely impressed with the professionalism and formality of the Irish Army guard, to such an extent that he described it as “the best armed guard I have ever encountered.”

Amongst the guardsmen was a young 18-year-old cadet called Felix O’Callaghan, who was Ryan Tubridy's guest this morning. He recalled how, even through the shock and devastation that followed the assassination, President Kennedy’s widow, Jackie, remembered those Irish Guardsmen, and requested that they be brought over to stand guard at the funeral.

And so it was that young Felix O’Callaghan, never having boarded an aeroplane before, was flown over along with his cadet troop to stand guard at Arlington National Cemetery on November 25th, 1963.

It was an occasion loaded with emotion for all who attended, as well as the millions of Irish people who had embraced the president and his family in Ireland earlier that year. For the young cadet, however, the emotion of the occasion was irrelevant.

“I tell you why it wasn’t emotional. When you are young guy in a military unit and you are taught to do a job, trained to do it, you do it. You don’t have time to think about it. Doing the job is the only thing that is on your mind, that’s the excellence of the training. You don’t want to let anybody down.”

Felix was part of a cadet troop, alongside American troops, that were set to fire a volley of shots over the coffin before it was lowered into the ground.

And following those volleys, the bugle call of United States Army Sgt. Keith Clark filled the air. “It was a haunting moment. Haunting,” recalled Felix O’Callaghan.

To listen to the full interview, click here.

Photo credit:  National Archive/Newsmakers/Getty Images