The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Jean had a deep affection for Kerry
THE RECENT DEATH OF JEAN KENNEDY SMITH SPARKS MEMORIES OF HER LINKS WITH KERRY
THE political dynasty that is ‘the Kennedys’ has been a constant thread in the fabric of Irish-American relations since the 1960s, and the recent passing of Jean Kennedy Smith – sister to former US President John F Kennedy – at her home in Manhattan has brought a flood of memories back of Jean’s visits to the Kingdom between 1994 and 1998.
Friend and confidant to Jean Kennedy Smith during her visits to Kerry is former Fine Gael Minister, Jimmy Deenihan. Jimmy first met Jean in the US Embassy in Dublin where ‘a very good friendship’ was struck up. He explains that Jean was keen to visit the Blasket Islands, so he invited her to Kerry. A tour of the peninsula’s rich archaeology followed, while Jean later returned to play a round of golf in Ballybunion with Jimmy.
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 became part of local history in August 1995 when a monument dedicated to the Jean’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was unveiled. In March 1995 Tralee Town Council wrote to Jean Kennedy Smith inviting her to attend the unveiling. Designed by Tralee sculptor Paula O’Sullivan, the bronze likeness is set in a stone fashioned by Ballymacelligott stone mason and former Tralee Town Councillor, Billy Leen.
Former gardeners of the park, Brendan and Lorna Enright, fondly recall the day Jean Kennedy Smith attended the unveiling, and admired their work. Brendan believes this high profile visit helped boost the number of American tourists to Tralee in the years that followed.
“It was a huge boost for American visitors, and they would always ask us: ‘where’s Rose Kennedy’s sculpture?’” Said Brendan.
“She was a very nice woman, and I remember her as being a quiet woman who didn’t like much fuss made of her. She was delighted with that sculpture and how the park was dedicated to the memory of her mother.”
Brendan continued: “She chatted about the different variety of roses we had and the cultivation methods involved. She mentioned how she had a big collection of roses in her own garden back in Long Island. She couldn’t have been nicer to Lorna and I.
“It was a great boost having someone of that stature recognise our rose garden. I still remember it like it was yesterday; she walked the park afterwards admiring the amazing species of trees we have.”
Jean was the last-surviving child of Joseph Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald. Her siblings included US President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Special Olympic founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Senator Ted Kennedy.
In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Jean Kennedy Smith the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work with people with disabilities.