Although her mother once described her as “being born so late she was only able to enjoy the tragedies and not the triumphs” of being a Kennedy, as the last survivor of the nine children of Joseph P Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald, Jean Kennedy Smith enjoyed more than her share of both. Considered the shyest of the Kennedy siblings, Jean kept a low public profile but despite maintaining her privacy became an admirable public servant, promoting the arts and care for disabled children, as well as serving as US ambassador to Ireland during the toughest days of the Northern Ireland peace process, and playing a controversial role in part of its success
