Saoirse Kennedy Hill dead at 22

Saoirse Kennedy Hill. Family Facebook photo.

 

By Irish Echo Staff

Tragedy has struck the Kennedy family yet again.

Saoirse Kennedy Hill, daughter of Courtney Kennedy and Paul Hill, was found dead at the family compound on Cape Cod Thursday.

As the passing of the 22-year-old, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, was deemed an “unattended death” the tragedy is under investigation by authorities.

"Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise and love," a statement from the Kennedy family said.

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Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert Kennedy, said: "The world is a little less beautiful today."

Saoirse Kennedy Hill had previously written about her struggles with depression in her high school paper.

"My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life. Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest," she wrote.

More recently a student at Boston College, Kennedy Hill was following in the tradition of public and community service that has been a hallmark of the Kennedy family for decades.

She had volunteerd in Mexico to build schools in indigenous communities and was "moved by the causes of human rights and women's empowerment," said the family statement.

"She lit up our lives with her love, her peals of laughter and her generous spirit," the statement said.

Saoirse’s mother, Courtney, is one of the eleven children of Robert and Ethel Kennedy. Senator Kennedy was assassinated in June, 1968. Ethel Kennedy is now 91.

Saoirse’s father, Paul Hill, was one of the falsely convicted and imprisoned Guildford Four.

 

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