FORMER US Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith was last night praised for her "pivotal role in the peace process".
The last surviving sibling of President John F Kennedy died aged 92 at her home in Manhattan, New York.
She was the eighth of nine children born to Joseph P and Rose Kennedy, her great-grandfather Patrick having emigrated from Dunganstown in Co Wexford.
The family experienced repeated tragedy with Joseph Kennedy Jnr, being killed during the Second World War; his sister Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy dying in a 1948 plane crash; John F Kennedy being assassinated in 1963 and Senator Robert F Kennedy murdered in 1968.
Jean, who married Kennedy family financial adviser and future White House chief of staff Stephen Edward Smith in 1956, was viewed for much of her life as a quiet sister who shunned the spotlight.
Though she never ran for office, she campaigned for her brothers and accompanied John F Kennedy on his historic visit to Ireland, describing it as "one of the most moving experiences" of her life.
Three decades later, she was appointed ambassador to Ireland by President Bill Clinton, who called her "as Irish as an American can be".
She sought to support the peace process, helping persuade the US administration to grant a controversial visa in 1994 to Gerry Adams, despite fierce British and internal opposition.
In 1998 she again risked controversy by taking communion in the Protestant Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin in a gesture of support for President Mary McAleese.
When she stepped down as ambassador that year, she received Irish citizenship for "distinguished service to the nation".
The mother-of-four, whose sister Eunice was behind the Special Olympics, was also the founder of Very Special Arts, an education programme that supports artists with physical or mental disabilities.
Mr Adams last night said she was a "wonderful, compassionate, formidable woman" whose appointment as ambassador was "pivotal to the development of the peace process".
"She already had a relationship with John Hume through her brother Teddy. After she arrived in Ireland she and Fr Alec Reid became close and contributed significantly to the efforts for peace, to the IRA cessation of August 1994 and eventually to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
"Fr Reid was hugely impressed by Jean Kennedy Smith’s commitment to peace and willingness to take risks to advance it. He used to call her An Speir Bhean – the spirit woman - and he worked closely with her and An Taoiseach Albert Reynolds to overcome obstacles."
The US Embassy in Dublin also said she "played a pivotal role in the peace process and devoted much of her time to moving Northern Ireland from the dark days of violence and despair to the brighter days of peace, reconciliation, and partnership".
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said she was a "proud Irish-American and a true friend to Ireland".
“Her courageous and determined diplomacy helped to bring peace to our island, built bridges, opened doors to all communities, and to all those striving for peace when peace was not a certainty."
