Jackie Kennedy’s niece wants letters returned to the family

Some of the collection of letters written by Jackie Kennedy to an elderly Irish priest — recently withdrawn from auction — should be handed back to the Kennedy family, her niece said.

During a visit to the University of Limerick, Rory Kennedy, the youngest of the 11 children of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy, said her aunt had written some “wonderful letters”, many of which should be shared.

Asked specifically about the letters written between 1950 and 1964 to Fr Joseph Leonard, a Vincentian priest who lived in All Hallows in Drumcondra, Ms Kennedy said: “I think some of them need to be back with the family. I think it’s a question of choosing and selecting them a little bit more and having a little bit more control over that.”