BREAKING NEWS: Jean Kennedy Smith, the last of nine JFK siblings dies aged 92

Jean Kennedy Smith, a US envoy who played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process, has died aged 92, her daughter Kym confirmed her death to the media today.

Ms Smith was the second youngest of the nine Kennedy siblings, who included President John F Kennedy and Senator Robert F Kennedy, diplomat, activist, and humanitarian, Ms Smith was the last surviving child of Joseph P Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald.

Ms Smith served as the US ambassador to Ireland in the 1990s, playing an important role in attempts to end sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. In 2011, US President Barack Obama awarded Ms Smith the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the country.

She was the first Kennedy woman of her generation to take on a serious political job. Like her sisters and the wives of her brothers, she had had roles in family political campaigns, but not in public service.

Her father, Joseph Kennedy Sr, had been the ambassador to Britain when she was a little girl, and she had visited Ireland, the land of her ancestors, many times and had fond memories of her time there.

She is survived by two daughters, Kym and Amanda, two sons, Stephen Jr and William, and six grandchildren.