Courtney Kennedy Hill, left, in blue, shares a hug after the funeral services for her daughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) - Dozens of members of the extended Kennedy clan as well as friends from college filled a Cape Cod church on Monday to pay their final respects to Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the 22-year-old granddaughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy.
Ted Kennedy Jr., former Congressman Joe Kennedy Jr., and current U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III served as pallbearers during the funeral Mass held at Our Lady of Victory Church in the Barnstable village of Centerville, not far from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port.
Her grandmother, 91-year-old Ethel Kennedy, was also at the funeral.
A private burial was scheduled to follow the Mass.
Hill, who was scheduled to start her senior year at Boston College this fall, was found unresponsive at a home in the compound on Thursday by first responders who were dispatched for reports of an overdose.
She was pronounced dead at Cape Cod Hospital, according to the Cape and Islands district attorney's office, which is investigating. The cause of death remains under investigation. An autopsy revealed no signs of trauma, and investigators are awaiting toxicology reports.
Hill was the daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's fifth child, Courtney, and Paul Michael Hill.
The Mass was closed to the media, but according to the bulletin, it included words to a song called "When Saoirse's Eyes Are Smiling" to be sung at the conclusion of the service, to the tune of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling."
The Kennedy family in a statement released by a spokesman last week remembered Hill for her social activism, her passion about human rights and women's empowerment and her work with indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico.
Hill had also written publicly in 2016 about her struggles with mental health and a suicide attempt while in high school at Deerfield Academy.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an Instagram post said that he thought of Hill as a daughter.
"Saoirse was fierce, both in her love for her family and yearning for justice," he wrote. "A fearless adventurer, she inspired curiosity and daring in her friends. But her greatest gift was to find humor in everything and to give us all the gift of her laughter - and our own."
Courtney Kennedy Hill helped down the steps by by Maria Shriver, left, and Sydney Lawford McKelvy, right, at the funeral services for her daughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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Courtney Kennedy Hill, in blue, watches as her husband Paul Michael Hill, helps carry the casket of their daughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill out of the church after the funeral services at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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The casket of Saoirse Kennedy Hill enters Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. Hill, who was scheduled to start her senior year at Boston College, was found unresponsive at a home in the compound on Thursday. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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Paul Michael Hill, left, father of Saoirse Kennedy Hill, places his hand on the hearse at funeral services for his daughter at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP)
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ADDS NAME OF MAX KENNEDY-Max Kennedy, left, helps his mother Ethel Kennedy to the church during funeral services for her granddaughter Saoirse Roisin Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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Courtney Kennedy Hill, center, looks on as the casket of her daughter, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, is taken from the hearse for funeral services for at Our Lady of Victory in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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Mourners gather to hug after the funeral service for Saoirse Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. Hill, who was scheduled to start her senior year at Boston College this fall, was found unresponsive at a home in the compound on Thursday by first responders who were dispatched for reports of an overdose. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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Edward M. Kennedy, Jr., left, Joseph P. Kennedy II, center, and his son U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, D-Mass., right, attend the funeral services for Saoirse Roisin Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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Family and friends stand outside the church before funeral services for Saoirse Roisin Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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Family and friends stand outside the church before funeral services for Saoirse Roisin Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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ADDS NAMES OF CHRISTINA SCHWARZENEGGER AND ANTHONY SHRIVER - Maria Shriver, center, and her daughter, Christina Schwarzenegger, left, stand with Shriver's brother, Anthony Shriver, before the funeral service for Saoirse Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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Family and friends stand outside the church during funeral services for Saoirse Roisin Kennedy Hill at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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A hearse carrying the casket of Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the 22-year-old granddaughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, passes two women on the way into Our Lady of Victory Church for a funeral Mass, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Centerville, Mass. Hill died Thursday after police responded to a call about a possible drug overdose at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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A hearse carrying the casket of Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the 22-year-old granddaughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, enters the driveway at Our Lady of Victory Church for a funeral Mass, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Centerville, Mass. Hill died Thursday after police responded to a call about a possible drug overdose at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy II drives into Our Lady of Victory Church for the funeral Mass for Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the 22-year-old granddaughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Centerville, Mass. Hill died Thursday after police responded to a call about a possible drug overdose at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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FILE - In this June 6, 2000 file photo, Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill places a white rose at the Eternal Flame, President John F. Kennedy's gravesite, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Hill, has died at the age of 22. The Kennedy family released a statement on Thursday night, Aug. 1, 2019, following reports of a death at the family's compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Hill was the daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's fifth child, Courtney, and Paul Michael Hill. (AP Photo/Hillery Smith Garrison, File)
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Paul Michael Hill, left, father of Saoirse Kennedy Hill, is consoled while his hand rests on the hearse at funeral services for his daughter at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP)
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Courtney Kennedy Hill, center, looks on as the casket of her daughter, Saoirse Kennedy Hill is taken from the Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Mass., Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. She is consoled by Maria Shriver, right, and Sydney Lawford McKelvy, left. Hill, who was scheduled to start her senior year at Boston College this fall, was found unresponsive at a home in the compound on Thursday by first responders who were dispatched for reports of an overdose. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
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