38 The Australian Women’s Weekly|OCTOBER 2019
The Kennedys
Clockwisefrom
bottomleft:
Saoirsewithmum
Courtneyin 2006;
asa younggirlin
2000;Saoirse's
parents,PaulHill
andCourtney;
Courtney(centre)
arrivesather
daughter's funeral.byfame,moneyandpolitics.“Likea lot
of theyoungerKennedys,shehadtried
tostayoutofthepubliceye,”says
J. RandyTaraborrelli,authorofThe
KennedyHeirs, “butit’sveryhardfor
themtoescapethename.When
you’veseenyourparents,aunts,uncles
havesomanyproblems,thechances
areyouaregoingtobeaffected.”
AtHyannisPort’sOurLadyof
Victorychurch,wheregenerationsof
Kennedyshavebeenbaptised,married
andmourned,thecongregationsang
a speciallyadaptedIrishfolksong,
WhenSaoirse’sEyesareSmiling.
Speakersrecalledher
commitmenttosocial
justice and determination to
anodd-jobmanfromBelfast,whohad
served 15 yearsin prisonasoneofthe
‘GuildfordFour’.Hewasconvictedof
anIRAbombingoftwoEnglishpubs,
in 1974,beforebeingclearedonthe
groundsthathis“confession”was
obtainedunderduress.
Prominentin thelengthycampaign
tofreeHillwasCourtney’sbrother,Joe
KennedyII,a UScongressmanwho
hada particularinterestin Irishaffairs.
WhenHillwasreleasedin 1989,Joe
broughthimtotheUS,wherehe
becameaninstantcelebrityin Irish-
American circles. He was invited to thebadlyaffectedbythesplit.Paulwould
lateradmitthathestruggledbothwith
theangerhefeltoverthelostyearsof
hislifeandthedifficultyoffeelingat
homein theglitteringKennedycosmos.
Courtney,whowas 11 whenher
fatherwasshotdeadwhilecampaigning
fortheUSpresidency,wasa similarly
torturedsoul.“I didnotreactwell,”she
oncesaid.“Ijustkeptthingsin.I was
unhappy.”Shedidpoorlyat school,
grewupwitha senseofinadequacy,
sufferedboutsof depressionandhated
beinga richManhattanhousewife.As
thecracksin theirmarriagespread,Paul
andCourtneyabandonedNew
Yorkwiththeirdaughterto livein
Fanore,a villageonthewestcoast
of Ireland.Theideawasto escape
theattentionthatsurroundedthem,
rediscovertheirrootsandgive
Saoirsea chanceto growupunseen.
“Weloveit here,”Paultold
a magazineshortlyaftertheir
arrival.“Courtneylovesit here
andSaoirselovesit here.I can
lookat theoceanallday.It’sso
beautiful.”Withinfouryears,
though,theywerebackin
America,livingapart.Saoirsewas
senttotheeliteDeerfieldAcademy
in Massachusetts,where,in thebest
Kennedystyle,sheemergedasa
potentmixof goodlooksandsocial
conscience,seeminglycapturingthe
unofficialfamilymotto:‘Ofthoseto
whommuchis given,muchis expected’.Descentintodarkness
Behindthegoodintentandhappy
smile,Saoirsewasalreadyconfronting
demons.Ina movingarticlein the
Academy’snewspaperin 2016she
chronicledtheonsetofherdepression:
“Whenyouwerelittle,didyouever
havefriendsyourmommadeyouhang
outwith,eventhoughyoudidn’twant
to?Thenthosefriendskeptshowing
up,andyouwereconfusedandsickof
them.Soonenough,thosefriendswere
aroundsomuchthatyougotusedto
them.Finally,thosefriendswerealways
withyouandneverleft,andyoualmost
beganto enjoyhavingthemaround.
“Untillastyear,thiswasmy
relationshipwithmymentalillness.My
depression took root in the beginning ofhelpbuilda betterworld,andin a
statement,declared:“Ourhearts
areshatteredbythelossofour
belovedSaoirse.Herlifewas filled with
hope,promiseandlove.”
ReturntoIreland
Today’sfourth-generationKennedys
area sprawlingdynasty,notquiteas
richorpoliticallyformidableasthey
usedtobe,butstillwreathedin an
enduringglamourandactivismthat
Saoirseembodied.Shewastheproduct
ofanimprobablylopsidedmarriage
betweenRFK’s63-year-olddaughter,
Courtney Kennedy, and Paul Hill, 65,
WhiteHouse,andhisstorywasmade
intoanOscar-nominatedHollywood
film,InTheNameOfTheFather.
Long-hairedandfine-featured,Paulwas
fetedandparaded,andonedayfound
himselfhavinglunchin Courtney’s
grandapartmentonNewYork’sFifth
Avenue.AlthoughCourtneylater
claimedshe“couldbarelyunderstanda
word”of Paul’sUlsterbrogue,theywere
soonromancing,andmarriedin 1993.
Saoirse,theironlychild,wasbornfour
yearslater.Shewasninewhenher
parents separated and by most accounts