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Ted Kennedy was a true friend of Ireland

February 17, 2011

By Staff Reporter

For his beloved wife Vicki, his sister Jean, his family, friends, colleagues, the citizens of Massachusetts and across America, the passing of Ted Kennedy marks an historic chapter spanning almost five decades of unrivalled public service and a unique record of legislative accomplishment.
In Ireland, which Ted loved so well, his loss is both personal and deeply felt by countless Irish people, at home and abroad. Our pride in Ted and the Kennedy family, however, will endure.
As I traveled through the streets of Boston last week, I was reminded not only of the profound ties between Ted, his family and our country, but also of the affection and gratitude of his constituents in Massachusetts, many of whom held up banners along the funeral route which said simply: “Thank you, Ted.”
In the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Roxbury last Saturday morning, I was reminded also of the countless Irish and other immigrants for whom Ted Kennedy fought, as well as of his extraordinary life and legacy.
For us, one of the proudest parts of that legacy is adorned by Ted Kennedy’s central and unswerving role on the long path leading to peace in Northern Ireland.
From his earliest discussions with successive Irish government leaders and with John Hume, going back over 40 years, Ted offered his wisdom and counsel.
When Ted and Vicki visited Stormont in May 2007, to mark the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, that visit represented the culmination of a long but ultimately successful process, due in large part to his perseverance, his sense of commitment and his abiding interest in bringing an end to violence in Northern Ireland and in establishing peaceful and democratic institutions there.
I feel very privileged to have known Ted Kennedy and to have benefited from his wisdom and insights during my visits to Washington and Boston.
For my predecessors also, he was always generous with his time and his advice, regardless of the other pressures of national and international issues before him.
We appreciated too his sense of fun, his love of Irish music and song, his warmth, his wit and his laughter. At the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, which both preserves and promotes the ideals of the late president and his family, a remarkable celebration of Ted’s life took place on Friday night, rich with stories and humor, along with much of that music and song which he enjoyed so much.
Ted’s close friend and ours, Senator Chris Dodd, perhaps put it best when he summarized Ted’s contribution: “John Kennedy inspired our America, Robert challenged our America, our Teddy changed America.”
In his own tribute, President Obama reflected on Ted’s exceptional legislative record and described him as “the greatest legislator of our time.”
During a life challenged by much adversity and especially over the past 15 months, Ted Kennedy was himself a true profile in courage.
The outpouring of gratitude and affection from so many during that time was striking. For many of my generation, the Kennedy family inspired, and continues to inspire those of us charged with positions of leadership. Ted’s own words encapsulate his philosophy best: “For all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make.”
The passing of Senator Ted Kennedy may mark the closing of a chapter and a generational shift, but I do not believe that it is the end of an era. We know that the great Friends of Ireland, in the Senate and in the House, as well as many others, will continue to support and nurture the bonds which meant so much to Ted and which we know means so much to them and to us today. He will remain, to use his own phrase, as a true compass for all concerned with Irish America.
There is a wider opportunity now, for all who share his ideals and goals, to persevere as he did throughout his life, to continue to value public service, to provide a voice for the voiceless, to seek a better and fairer future and to uphold in the future the special and cherished legacy that he has left in America and on the island of Ireland.

Brian Cowen T.D., the current Taoiseach, is also a former Minister for Foreign Affairs.

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