[1] Of Michael's brothers, two died in childhood, one became a priest in Central America and another (Declan aka "Wally") was elected to Hillingdon London Borough Council for Militant Labour in 1990.
[1][3] After the Leaving Certificate, Michael entered Donamon Castle, the seminary of the Society of the Divine Word, intending to become a missionary priest, but left to get treatment for a stammer.
While stationed in Clonmel he played for St Mary's, reaching the South Tipperary Senior Championship final in 1988.
[6] Later he commuted to Birr to train the club team, taking them to the 1993 Offaly Senior Championship final.
[1] Journalist John Murphy was in the congregation and reported the story in the following day's Cork Examiner; it was picked up by national and international media.
[15][17][18] Rumours named two different women as the "Angel of Death" or "AIDS Avenger", one of whom later alleged harassment in subsequent months.
[2][13] In October 2006 two drug addicts he had befriended were convicted of making unwarranted demands with menace for money, after a 2003 threat to falsely accuse him of sexual abuse.
[23] In 2016 a church spokesman said Kennedy was "subject to a monitoring programme involving both the diocesan authorities and the Gardaí" but had not been laicised.