The late Senator Edward Kennedy's visit to Adare in 1964, was recalled this week by his distant cousin, Mike Reidy, Patrickswell.

Expressing his sadness at the Senator's death last Wednesday, Mr Reidy said that his family was connected to the Kennedy's through his mother, Mary now aged 89, and who resides in Dooradoyle.

"To the best of my knowledge, her grandmother was a cousin of the wealthy Fitzgerald family, whose daughter Rose married Joe Kennedy, renowned banker, and who later became US Ambassador to London.

"When Ted Kennedy arrived in Adare as part of his visit to Ireland, we met him over dinner at the Dunraven Arms Hotel.

"He was very friendly and traced family roots. It was a great occasion".

Mike added that his mother was very privileged to have been an invited guest at the reception afforded to President John Kennedy, when he visited Greenpark Racecourse in 1963.

Meanwhile Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin paid this tribute to Ted Kennedy.

"He was, to the very end, a true profile in courage. For over 40 years, Ted championed many causes. His extraordinary and progressive contributions in areas such as healthcare and education are legendary and enduring.

"Ted Kennedy knew and loved Ireland - its people, its music and its culture.

As the embodiment of the Irish immigrant story, his special dedication to the peace process was unrivalled and deeply held. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his true and loyal friendship and steadfast support, particularly during the process which resulted in the Good Friday Agreement.

Edward M. Kennedy was the third longest-serving member of the United States Senate in American history. Voters of Massachusetts elected him to the Senate nine times—a record matched by only one other Senator.

The scholar Thomas Mann said his time in the Senate was"an amazing and endurable presence. You want to go back to the 19th century to find parallels, but you won't find parallels."

President Obama has described his breathtaking span of accomplishment: "For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health, and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts." He fought for and won so many great battles—on voting rights, education, immigration reform,the minimum wage, national service, the nation's first major legislation to combat AIDS, and equality for minorities, women, the disabled and gay Americans.

Senator Edward Kennedy

He called health care "the cause of my life," and succeeded in bringing quality and affordable health care for countless Americans, including children, seniors and Americans with disabilities.

Until the end he was working tirelessly to achieve historic national health reform. He was an opponent of the Vietnam War and an early champion of the war‘s refugees.

He was a powerful yet lonely voice from the beginning against the invasion of Iraq. He stood for human rights abroad—from Chile to the former Soviet Union — and was a leader in the cause of poverty relief for the poorest nations of Africa and the world.

He believed in a strong national defense and he also unceasingly pursued and advanced the work of nuclear arms control.

He was a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School. He lived in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, with his wife Vicki. He is survived by her and their five children Kara, Edward Jr., and Patrick Kennedy, and Curran and Caroline Raclin, and his sister Jean Kennedy Smith.