Her death came hours after she shared on social media that she was receiving palliative care. In a tweet she posted on Friday, she asked her followers to “watch out” for her children, Jacob and Eva, whom she described as “the kindest, sweetest and most thoughtful children”. She posted a photo of the young people with a picture of the card they made for her, which read: “Mom, I hope you get well soon. I love you.” Several of Mrs. Kennedy’s former colleagues on UTV have published tributes to her. A spokesman for the channel said in a statement: “The UTV family is deeply saddened by the death of former colleague and friend Aideen Kennedy. “A really talented reporter, she spent many years on UTV bringing stories from viewers from all over Northern Ireland. “We want to express our sincere condolences to her family at this very sad time.” DUP MP Emma Little Pengelly said: “Our time here on earth is over. “I’m sorry about that. No more pain or illness for you now. No more sadness or trauma.” Former UTV political editor Ken Reid wrote on Twitter: “Tonight the thought that Aideen is no longer with us is simply heartbreaking. “A decent soul who has suffered so much. The news has stunned many of us. We all need to be careful. God bless her. RIP.” And the BBC’s Barra Best wrote on Twitter: “I’m so sorry to hear that. Aideen was always great to meet when he was covering a story. RIP.” Mrs. Kennedy has also survived her parents, Noel and Maura. She revealed in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph in 2019 that she lost Fiona’s older sister to cancer in 2016 and that Dara’s brother had died of a brain tumor less than a year earlier at the age of 35. Meanwhile, Rory’s older brother was killed when he was just a year old in a car accident. Ms Kennedy said in the interview: “My mom Maura and dad Noel are the strongest and most loved people I know. With my mom being a teacher and my dad originally from Argentina, the nature of our family has always had children at the forefront. “We are very people oriented as a family. We were a very close family and we did a lot together.”
