Tributes paid to ‘loyal friend’
Kennedy was remembered as a flawed but passionate friend of Ireland who helped bring peace to the divided north and pride to Roman Catholics in the south.
Many expressed admiration for a man who transcended his family’s tragedies and his own demons to become a powerful political force both at home and abroad.
“He had his peccadilloes, like all of us,” said Joe Drennan, 68, a building contractor from Cork. “But boy, did he overcome them. He overcame the biggest obstacle in his life – and that was himself.”
Drennan was among those waiting patiently in line outside the embassy to leave condolences.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen signed the book on behalf of the people of Ireland.
“We have lost a loyal and dear friend who will be remembered with great affection by all of us whose privilege it was to work with him.”
The impact of the Kennedys is immense in a country where many people have avidly followed the glamorous, tragic clan that – in John F Kennedy – put the first Roman Catholic in the White House.
The Kennedys did bring a touch of royal flair to Ireland, their many visits a combination of homecoming and triumphal procession.
“We’ve grown up with them from our childhood,” said Maura Cronin from Galway. “I suppose there was an element of romanticism about them.”
“He was a great friend of this country,” said Gerry Keating, 69.
It was hard to find anyone who would disagree.
“He was an Irishman in the corridors of Washington,” said Luke McAdams, 35, a management consultant from Derry.
In the Kennedys, he said, Irish people saw a family that “always have half an eye toward Ireland in whatever they do”.
“Ted Kennedy knew and loved Ireland – its people, its music, its culture,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin. “As the embodiment of the Irish immigrant story, his special dedication to the peace process was unrivalled and deeply held.”
Many speak warmly of Kennedy’s sister, Jean Kennedy Smith, who was the US ambassador to Ireland and played her own role in the peace process.
While Edward Kennedy will forever be remembered as JFK’s younger brother, he was also a powerbroker who mobilised Irish Americans and their political views on the North – a kingmaker whose actions helped lay the groundwork for a lasting peace accord.
Kennedy encouraged American companies to invest in Ireland in the 1980s, when the country was still scarred by poverty and mass emigration. That investment helped turn Ireland into a “Celtic Tiger” of rising salaries and rapid growth.
Sean Haughey TD, son of a Kennedy’s friend, the late taoiseach Charles Haughey, remembered Kennedy as “larger than life, full of vitality, full of fun” – but also as a hard-nosed, hardworking politician.
“I know he never became president, but as a senator he was of great practical assistance to this country,” said the Dublin TD
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