Teddy Kennedy

In a eulogy delivered at the funeral of his murdered brother Robert, Senator Edward Kennedy made the following observation, “My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."

Maybe the same philosophy should be applied to Teddy Kennedy himself – a man who has swung between the depths of outrageous abuses of position and the pinnacles of generous and far-sighted philanthropy. Some have argued that the Massachusetts senatorial selection process was manipulated to ensure his appointment to the United States Senate. Even if that was the case, he subsequently served as an influential member of that august body for the rest of his life.

It is hard to believe that the incident at Chappaquiddick which resulted in the truly horrific death of Mary Jo Kopechne neither saw Senator Kennedy jailed for a long time nor destroyed his political career. If he had been jailed or his career finished, the ordinary people of this country would undoubtedly be worse off. Having said that it appears to be quite clear that Kennedy left this poor woman to die and equally clear that the Kennedy family influenced due processes of law to prevent the level of prosecution that would been applied to a lesser citizen.

Maybe this was a man that learnt from his experiences. As an Englishman I was angry that his early career comments in respect of a united Ireland gave legitimacy to the fund-raising efforts of Noraid. Funds that most commentators believe reached the IRA, helping to pay for their terrorist activities. In later years, Senator Kennedy contributed much to the peace process of Northern Ireland. Alliance leader David Ford summed up his contribution: "He helped to widen the vision of Irish Americans to the realities of Northern Ireland and will be remembered for the part he played in our peace process.”

On balance I believe he was a fine senator. I also believe that his forte was working behind the forefront of national government. In his later years he was a compassionate and caring individual who championed the causes of those United States citizens who would otherwise have little chance of being heard. I don't know whether he will rest in peace or burn in hell, but the world is a little poorer for his passing.