THE RECENT DEATH OF JEAN KENNEDY SMITH SPARKS MEMORIES OF HER LINKS WITH KERRY

In June 1994 Jean Kennedy Smith officially opened the 24th annual Listowel Writers’ Week and attended a ‘ Youth in Action’ conference in Siamsa Tire where she addressed young people. She also helped in the fundraising drive to establish the Kerry Literary and Culture Museum in Listowel. But one of Jimmy’s fondest memories is of Jean’s visit to his native Finuge to open the Sean McCarthy Music Festival.

“She really enjoyed her time in Kerry and she had deep affection and connection with Kerry. The fact she came to Finuge to open our festival, it made a statement of the type of woman she was,” Jimmy said.

As US Ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith’s visits came at a critical time in the peace process and were about more than just political optics. She worked tirelessly behind the scenes with such political figures as Dick Spring and John Hume. Serving as Minister at the time, Jimmy recalls the moment Jean informed him that Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were ‘serious’ about the peace process and wanted an agreement.

“She asked me to pass that word on to the Taoiseach at the time, John Bruton, which I did. She firmly believed they wanted peace at that stage and wanted to give up the arms struggle. She was a key figure in convincing President Bill Clinton to provide visas for both Adams and McGuinness to go to America. That was a very important part of the whole process,” Jimmy said.

Jimmy kept in close contact with Jean over the years and often met her for ‘ a coffee and a chat’ whenever the occasion presented itself. At a special exhibition in the National Library in 2013 marking the 50th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s visit to Ireland, Jimmy used the opportunity, as Minister, to acknowledge the contribution made by Jean to the peace process with the broader Kennedy family present.

“When other people were quite wary of putting their heads above the parapet, Jean was one of the first to do it. The State Department in America at the time was very much governed by Westminster, she was a key figure in helping to change that, and in the peace process,” Jimmy added.

Meanwhile in Tralee, in a quiet corner of Tralee Town Park, a piece of the Kennedy legacy

Former gardeners in The Green, Brendan and Lorna Enright, showing Jean the spectacular rose garden in Tralee Town Park. The occasion marked the naming of the rose garden in honour of Jean’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, where a specially commissioned monumnet is located.

Jimmy Deenihan, Jean Kennedy Smith, and friends, heading to the Blasket Island on the day of Jean’s birthday.