Peace accolades for Kennedy family duo

Senator Ted Kennedy and his sister, former US ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith, were recognised today with the Tipperary International Peace Award for their support for the Northern Ireland peace process.

Ms Kennedy Smith told a gathering in Tipperary she was deeply honoured by the award.

She paid tribute to fellow peace process architects Taoisigh Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern and John Hume of the SDLP. She added the three men were extraordinary leaders of the peace process and added she was proud of the role the US played in that process.

Victoria Kennedy, wife of the late Mr Kennedy, said her husband would have been pleased to be in Tipperary to receive the award as he loved Ireland and its people and the accolade honoured his life’s work, memory and family.

Senator Kennedy, who died last August, was recognised for his battle for peace, human rights and nuclear disarmament.

A leading figure in US and international politics for more than 40 years, he will be remembered in Ireland for his involvement in the peace process leading up to the Good Friday Agreement. Senator Kennedy was a steadfast advocate for nuclear disarmament, supporting abolition of the weapons of mass destruction. He also emerged as one of the most thoughtful and vocal opponents to US involvement in armed conflicts from Central America to the Middle East and voted against authorising the Iraq war in 2002.

A tireless campaigner for democracy and human rights, he worked to end apartheid in South Africa and opposed military dictatorships in Chile and Argentina.

As US ambassador to Ireland in the 1990s, Ms Kennedy Smith helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. She earned the respect of officials across Ireland for her impressive diplomacy.

A Tipperary Peace Convention spokesman said: “The advice that she gave and the contacts that she maintained, especially in times of difficulty, were of vital importance in achieving what was a very historic breakthrough in the Northern Ireland peace process and for that she deserves our everlasting admiration and respect.

“She served the United States proudly and capably as US ambassador to Ireland and played a pivotal role in the peace process during her five year residence in Ireland.”

Previous recipients of the award include Bob Geldof, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Senator George Mitchell, Bill Clinton, Archbishop Robin Eames and the late Benazir Bhutto.