The Ray and Mary Kennedy Family Endowed Collection in Irish Music was established in 1987 by Ray and Mary Kennedy. This endowment supports the enhancement of an extensive private collection of Irish history and music bequeathed to the University of Notre Dame in 1931 by Francis O’Neill, a retired captain of the Chicago Police Department and a well-known collector and annotator of Irish music.

Ray and Mary, both graduates of St. John’s University (’63), have three children: Raymond (’87), Michael (’88), and Kevin (’90). Prior to his death in 2003, Ray was a member of the Hesburgh Libraries Advisory Council and the Sorin Society. After graduation, Ray pursued his MBA at New York University and attended Harvard University’s Executive Marketing Management program. He began his career at AMF Corporation, and later served as executive vice president of Masco Corporation. Mary is a member of the Hesburgh Libraries Advisory Council.

The Kennedy Endowment in Irish Music has played an important role in securing Notre Dame’s position of excellence and prominence in the field of Irish Studies, benefitting the work of the Keough-Naughton Institute. It continues to shape the Hesburgh Libraries strong connection to the study of Irish traditional music and advance the work of students pursuing a rich liberal arts education at Notre Dame.

The family has also established the Raymond and Mary Kennedy Family Library Endowment and the Raymond and Mary Kennedy Family Library Preservation Fund.