Washington, Aug 11 (DPA) Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a younger sister of late US President John F. Kennedy and known for her work on behalf of people with mental disabilities, died Tuesday morning, media reports said citing the Kennedy family. She was 88.

The reports said Shriver died around 2 a.m. in hospital in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where she had been in intensive care for the past week.

Founder of the Special Olympics to allow people with mental disabilities to compete in sports - her work was in part inspired by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary - Eunice Shriver was from one of America's most prominent political families.

She was the fifth of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy, with her siblings including the late president Kennedy and late senator Robert Kennedy - both were assassinated in the 1960s - as well as current Massachusetts Senator Edward M.