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PAUL KEATING

Maura O’Connell’s special link with Ted Kennedy

By
Paul Keating

Published Thursday, September 3, 2009, 2:58 PM
Updated Tuesday, September 8, 2009, 12:16 PM


Senator Ted Kennedy outside the Senate Office Building with Jesse Bennett and his mother Maura O'Connell in 2006.

Once again the world’s fascination with the Kennedy family and its legacy captivated all of us last week after the death of Senator Edward Kennedy at the age of 77. 

Because of the importance of the Kennedys in Irish American history, perhaps the impact seemed larger to us especially as we watched along with the world the final ceremonies including the Irish Wake at the JFK Library in South Boston.  

Endless tributes and commentaries filled the broadcast airwaves and print media providing a larger more complete picture of the complex youngest son of Joe and Rose Kennedy.

One of more eloquent remembrances that I saw came from Maura O’Connell, a singer based in Nashville who unexpectedly became a friend who penned her personal thoughts for CNN.com late last week and shared some further thoughts with this writer.

Like politicians, singers -- particularly those close to the folk tradition like O’Connell -- deal with the human condition and are often defined by their ability to interpret it.   Those who see a common humanity and accept that we all have faults within our makeup find inspiration in reaching out to those who can help us understand ourselves and those all around us, whether they are close to our hearts or the community at large.

Kennedy and Maura O’Connell share an Irish connection, of course, but that isn’t necessarily the link that drew them together. 

In her essay for CNN entitled “Why I Sang at Kennedy’s Wedding” we learned more about their little-known relationship that was one more telling example of the senator’s own personal style in relating to a host of people and allowing them to influence his life.  

Most of us may remember that Maura O’Connell first came to prominence in Ireland and America as the vocalist with the popular trad group De Danann at the beginning of the 1980s with songs like “Maggie” and “Molly-O” that she rendered in her own inimitable style. 

But even though she grew up in the traditional music bastion of Co. Clare, the Ennis native had much more eclectic taste in songs and a sense of adventure that eventually brought her to Nashville in the mid-1980s where she fell into the New Grass music scene that was a little bit country, little bit folk and roots.  

It was a scene that was growing more sophisticated and cosmopolitan in its reach while still being topical, romantic, dramatic or humorous as it described our lives and times.

Around the time that Senator Kennedy was courting Victoria Reggie on his “redemptive” path in 1991 and 1992, O’Connell was well on her way to the prolific career that has produced 11 solo recordings out of Nashville.   In particular her CDs Helpless Heart (1989) and New Life (1991) contained songs that called out to the reforming youngest son of the Kennedy male line.

O’Connell was on the road in San Francisco when Kennedy tried to contact her Nashville home out of the blue to book her for one of the most important gigs of his life. Not sure if she should take the phone message seriously, she called him back a day later.

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Maura O’Connell’s special link with Ted Kennedy | Entertainment in Ireland and Around the World | IrishCentral


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