
July 2021 75
Joe Kennedy provided a hefty inducement to the pub-
lisher of ‘Time’ magazine to put a then very young JFK
on the front page with an article speculating that he
might be a future President. It planted a seed and Joe
later confessed that the bribe was cheap at the price
and certainly better value than political advertising.
He also did a deal with the Cardinal Archbishop
involving a charitable donation to the church, enjoying
full tax deductibility, while getting cash from the church
Sunday collections that could be used tracelessly on
the campaign.
The Kennedys ushered in a new era of professional
politics with the emphasis on TV, advertising and the
inevitable arrival of big money for ever grander political
campaigns. Jack Kennedy was always strategic and, for
example, won the black vote to become President o
the back of an intervention, during the campaign, to get
Martin Luther King released from jail. Luther King’s
father announced he was moving all of his votes to Ken-
nedy. On the night of his release from prison Martin
Luther King delivered a sermon stating “anti-Catholic
bias and religious bigotry is as immoral, undemocratic
and unchristian as racial bigotry”.
While criticised for not moving quickly enough on
civil rights for black Americans JFK did publish, in the
summer of 1963, the bill that became the Civil Rights
Act of 1964. In the end it was guided through both
houses by his successor Lyndon Johnson. It was an unu-
sual quirk of fate in that had JFK not been assassinated
the Act might not have passed. Lyndon Johnson, as a
southern Democrat and life-long legislator, had more
heft on Capitol Hill than his young predecessor whom
he had served as Vice President. The only other major
impact JFK had was his management of the nuclear
weapons stand-o with the Soviets and the toughness
of his stance.
Neither John F Kennedy nor his father made much dif
-
ference to Anglo-Irish relations. Joe Kennedy, as US
Ambassador to London, before the Second World War,
did encourage Chamberlain to sign the agreement in
1938 with de Valera which saw the British relinquish
their treaty ports in the south and resolve the stand-o
created by the Economic War between the two coun-
tries. De Valera, for his part, was
disappointed that his eorts to
push the US to pressure the Brit-
ish on the partition issue largely
fell on deaf ears. For both Joe
Kennedy and JFK the British
remained a key American ally
and this fact alone constrained
their actions.
The torch of Kennedy partici-
pation in US politics ultimately
passed to Ted Kennedy whose
influence both in the US and on
Irish issues became quite pro-
found. My father, the late Brian
Lenihan senior, was a friend of
Ted Kennedy and rated him
highly. Over the years he cham-
pioned Irish issues in
Washington, operating an open
door to visiting Irish diplomats
and politicians. His relationship with John Hume put
him in the centre of the search for a peaceful resolution
of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Kennedy and his
sister Jean Kennedy Smith, as Clinton’s ambassador to
Dublin, were to play a pivotal part in assisting an end
to IRA violence on the island of Ireland. Twice Ted Ken
-
nedy intervened at key moments of the peace process
to secure visas for both Gerry Adams and veteran IRA
man Joe Cahill.
The first visa intervention was vehemently opposed
by the British government. The second visa necessi-
tated Albert Reynolds putting his reputation on the line
with Clinton by telling him that if Joe Cahill was admit-
ted an IRA ceasefire would follow. Ted Kennedy’s
influence was enormous.
It is the American imprimatur on the Good Friday
Agreement that prevents the parties from sliding away
from its terms. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, and
President Joe Biden, have been vocal in defence of the
Irish interest as the Brexit process has played itself out.
Ted Kennedy would be very proud of that..
In domestic Democrat politics Ted Kennedy played
kingmaker to Barack Obama. In an extraordinary inter-
vention in the Democratic nomination contest Ted
Kennedy endorsed Obama, rather than Hilary Clinton,
declaring that the torch had passed to a new genera
-
tion of Americans. David Axelrod, Barack `Obama’s
most senior advisor, confessed it was the greatest day
of his life and transformed the Obama campaign.
After his retirement Ted Kennedy continued to give
great advice to Irish governments. Brian Cowen went to
visit him as Foreign Minister and Kennedy bluntly told
him that Ireland needed to up its game in Washington.
From his hospital bed he told Cowen that he was the
last of the line that could trace a direct connection back
to Ireland and were capable of influence in
Washington.
One of the most interesting essays in this collection
is by Cody Keenan, a speechwriter for Barack Obama.
He tells of the Obama eulogy at a black church in
Charleston following a particularly terrible mass shoot-
ing. As they landed, his attention was caught by
Obama’s addition of the lyrics of Amazing Grace to the
script he had written for him. As
they descended from the helicop-
ter Obama turned to him and said
“You know, if it feels right, I might
sing it”. His essay demonstrates
Obama’s calm and determination
to master the detail of policy as
well as his engagement in the writ-
ing of his own speeches.
The editors Brian Murphy, an
academic and advisor to
two Taoisigh, and Donnacha
O’Beacháin, an academic, have
put together a narrative that is
readable and diverse.
Conor Lenihan is a former Minister
and his book ‘Albert Reynolds -
Risktaker for Peace’, will be
published by the Merrion Press in
September of this year.
Neither John
F Kennedy nor
his father made
much difference
to Anglo-Irish
relations.