Career
He was a senator for most of the period from 1981 to 1993. He was returned the following year to the 17th Seanad (again on the Administrative Panel), and held that seat until his defeat at the 1993 Seanad election. He stood again for the Seanad in 1997, but was not re-elected.
He also contested the 2002 general election as an independent.
Politics
A long-serving member of Limerick City Council, Kennedy stood unsuccessfully as a Fine Gael candidate for Dáil Éireann in the Limerick East constituency at the 1969, 1973 and 1977 general elections. He left Fine Gael in about the year 2000, and at the 2004 and 2009 local elections he was re-elected to the city council as an independent candidate. He re-joined Fine Gael in September 2009.