The late US Senator Ted Kennedy and his sister, Jean Ann Kennedy Smith have been named as the recipients of the prestigious Tipperary Peace Prize.
The siblings were chosen by the Tipperary International Peace Award Convention for their reconciliation work in Northern Ireland and across the world.
Senator Kennedy, who died in August aged 77, and 81-year-old Mrs Kennedy Smith join an impressive list of previous winners, including Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Benazir Bhutto, Lord Robin Eames and Sir Bob Geldof.
Announcing the award, organisers paid huge tribute to the Boston-born pair.
A statement said, “Senator Edward Kennedy is being honoured for his courageous leadership for peace, human rights, and nuclear disarmament, while Jean Kennedy Smith is being honoured for all she did to enable future generations, regardless of their background, to share in Ireland’s promising future.”
A spokesman for the peace prize convention said it was hoped Mrs Kennedy Smith would attend the formal presentation ceremony in Ballykisteen, Co Tipperary later this year.
The last surviving child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, Mrs Kennedy Smith spent five years as US Ambassador to Ireland after being nominated by President Clinton in 1993 and was awarded honorary citizenship by the Government of Ireland in 1998.
Her younger brother Ted, a senator for his home state of Massachusetts for more than 46 years, was intricately involved in Northern Irish politics during and beyond the Good Friday Agreement, (Irish: Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta).
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