Kennedy's efforts for peace remembered by Irish leaders

Aug 26, 2009, 11:21 GMT

   London/Dublin - Edward Kennedy's life-long commitment to bringing peace to Northern Ireland was remembered Wednesday by top politicians in the Irish Republic and in the British province of Northern Ireland.

   Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Brian Cowen said Kennedy would be remembered with great affection and enduring respect. 'In good days and bad, Ted Kennedy worked valiantly for the cause of peace on this island.'

   Irish President Mary McAleese said Kennedy would be remembered as a 'hugely important friend to this country during the very difficult times.'

   'His outstanding and remarkable personal contribution was made, despite the sacrifice and sorrow that was part of the overall contribution of the entire Kennedy family,' she said.

   The president of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams, hailed Kennedy's contribution to the peace process as 'exceptional and significant.'

   Social Democrat politician John Hume, who won the 1998 shared Nobel Peace Prize for his peace efforts, said peace and justice had always been at the 'top of Kennedy's agenda.'

   Former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, a key player in the peace process, said Ireland had lost a great friend and America a great leader.

   'He lived to see two great chasms bridged, between Catholic and Protestant in Northern Ireland and between black and white in his own United States,' said Ahern.

   'These achievements, which were the dreams imagined by his brothers in his youth, were the legacy of a long life and of a good and great man who, no matter how often he stumbled or the cause stalled, continued with a tenacity and a great belief that was the hallmark of everything he did and of the man he was.'

   Jeffrey Donaldson, a leading Protestant politician in Northern Ireland, recalled Kennedy's traditional and long-term support for Catholic Republicans in Northern Ireland.

   'I think Ted Kennedy came to understand that the situation in Northern Ireland was much more complex than the simple notions that had been put into his head by republican propaganda,' he said.

   'As the years passed, he did moderate his position somewhat and in the end he realized some of the stances he had earlier taken were not helpful.'

   Kennedy had gradually 'embarked on a journey' that led him to an acceptance of Protestant rights and opinions in Northern Ireland, Donaldson said.

   In a keynote speech in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in 1998, Kennedy told a predominantly Protestant audience: 'You are part of our heritage and history. The vast, vast majority of Irish Catholics in America bear you no ill-will. We are brothers and sisters, not enemies.'