Brian Kennedy "The battle has just commenced"/The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article4965565.ece

From The TimesOctober 18, 2008

Brian Kennedy's quest to find Madeleine
Life of Brian: Kennedy with the Guinness Premiership trophy

Mark Souster
There is no doubt that Brian Kennedy is a driven man. He has built a business empire with a turnover of more than £400million, as owner he has transformed Sale Sharks into one of the leading rugby clubs in Britain, who face Munster tomorrow in the second round of the Heineken Cup, and fathered five children.

He is ultra-competitive. Only last weekend he raced Kingsley Jones, the club's coach and former Wales captain, uphill and beat him even though there is more than ten years between them. Family - he married at 19 - sport and the commercial world are his life blood. But over the past year he has also been consumed by another cause. Kennedy has been heavily involved in supporting Gerry and Kate McCann in the search for Madeleine, their missing daughter.

Kennedy 48, is reluctant to talk about his role or the reasons why he chose to put a chunk of his fortune, estimated at more than £250million, at their disposal. He has said before that he simply felt compelled to step in. “I have chosen to keep a low profile on this,” Kennedy said yesterday. “It is not about me. It is about Madeleine. I don't want to comment personally on this except to say there is a big job still to do and we are focusing on getting it done.”

Seventeen months after her disappearance in Portugal, Kennedy remains as committed as ever to discovering what happened to Madeleine and helping the family to end their torment. “Am I still involved?” he said. “Absolutely. Have we given up hope? Have we hell. The battle has just commenced. We have plans and when we are ready to tell the world about them we will do so.”

Kennedy has become friends with the McCanns and Gerry has been his guest at Sale. “He is a keen rugby man and really likes his sport,” Kennedy said. Asked how he thought they are coping, he replied: “The only person who could answer that is someone who has gone through the same thing. Fortunately, the vast majority of us have not. As a parent you feel for them. Whatever you feel, the horrible feeling you feel when you think about it, you have to multiply it by infinity to start getting a glimpse of how it must really feel.”

On Thursday, two newspapers had to pay substantial damages to seven friends of the McCanns who were on holiday at the time Madeleine went missing. Kennedy cannot comprehend how people could even think that the couple were somehow culpable, or how difficult it must have been to live their nightmare in public. “To lose your child and then be blamed?” he said. “It is ludicrous and horrible the things the press were saying.”

Is he optimistic that there will be a positive resolution? “I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic,” he said. “I am realistic. We are just getting on doing what can be done and who knows how it will turn out. It is a very big part of my life. There are a lot of people helping by putting in a lot of time. But as I have said, it is not about me, them, Kate or Gerry. It is about a poor little kid who might be out there needing to be found. So therefore we need to move mountains to find her.”

The discussion switches to rugby, the tremendous victory away to Clermont Auvergne in the opening round of the Heineken Cup and tomorrow's equally daunting meeting with Munster, the champions, at Edgeley Park.

“The whole occasion in France was remarkable and there were several facets to it,” Kennedy said. “It was against one of their top teams, the atmosphere was incredible, and there was a big emotional angle for Philippe [Saint Andre, the Sale director of rugby]. This is where he played for many years, captained them, where he is thought of very highly and he has come back as a conqueror on a white horse. This weekend we are going to have to do it all again.”

Standards have been set high. Kennedy believes that this team are the best in the club's history and that winning the Guinness Premiership or the Heineken Cup remain realistic targets this season. “The result last Saturday underlines the potential of this club when we get it together,” he said. “We have never had a team that could have got that result.”

The change in mentality and emphasis had its genesis in the surprising home defeat by London Irish in the final league game of last season. “We were not expected to lose that,” Kennedy said. “That set the tone for all the pre-season work.

“It was obvious there was something we were not doing right. It is about focus and mental hardness. Philippe and Kingsley decided to go about things in a different way. Whether that leads to anything we'll wait and see. But we are in a better position than we have ever been.”

Brian Kennedy, a true hero. Mr kennedy sir, I salute you!

You and me both Vee. This man has my utmost respect, he has nothing whatsoever to gain just like the millions of other people that have donated to the Find Madeleine Fund. All they want is this little child found. This man like us all, saw a great miscarriage of justice and a little girl being badly let down by the Portuguese Authorities, so he put his money where his mouth is. I only wish I was in his financial position to be able to do the same.

Yes Mr. Kennedy, I salute you too and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Brian is a hero!!

I'm sure he knows he will continue to be the butt of bile along with all those he supports and who suport along side him. But taking the critisism seems to go with the terratory as we all know. But, as he said it's not about us, it's about Madeleine.

Madeleine will be found and I will forever look back and wonder why so many people did so much to drop a spanner in the works of searching for her.

Chinadoll wrote:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article4965565.ece

From The TimesOctober 18, 2008

Brian Kennedy's quest to find Madeleine
Life of Brian: Kennedy with the Guinness Premiership trophy

(Excerpts From The Article in Red.)

Excerpt One.... Kennedy 48, is reluctant to talk about his role or the reasons why he chose to put a chunk of his fortune, estimated at more than £250million, at their disposal. He has said before that he simply felt compelled to step in. “I have chosen to keep a low profile on this,” Kennedy said yesterday. “It is not about me. It is about Madeleine. I don't want to comment personally on this except to say there is a big job still to do and we are focusing on getting it done.”

Excerpt 2.... Seventeen months after her disappearance in Portugal, Kennedy remains as committed as ever to discovering what happened to Madeleine and helping the family to end their torment. “Am I still involved?” he said. “Absolutely. Have we given up hope? Have we hell. The battle has just commenced. We have plans and when we are ready to tell the world about them we will do so.”

Excerpt 3.... "Kennedy said. Asked how he thought they are coping, he replied: “The only person who could answer that is someone who has gone through the same thing. Fortunately, the vast majority of us have not. As a parent you feel for them. Whatever you feel, the horrible feeling you feel when you think about it, you have to multiply it by infinity to start getting a glimpse of how it must really feel.”

Excerpt 4..... Kennedy cannot comprehend how people could even think that the couple were somehow culpable, or how difficult it must have been to live their nightmare in public. “To lose your child and then be blamed?” he said. “It is ludicrous and horrible the things the press were saying.”

Excerpt 5.....Is he optimistic that there will be a positive resolution? “I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic,” he said. “I am realistic. We are just getting on doing what can be done and who knows how it will turn out. It is a very big part of my life. There are a lot of people helping by putting in a lot of time. But as I have said, it is not about me, them, Kate or Gerry. It is about a poor little kid who might be out there needing to be found. So therefore we need to move mountains to find her.”
:

E.One....This is the measure of this man Brian Kennedy. Quite literally, this man is putting his money (and a lot of it) where his mouth is! I read that Vile has said that all film offers etc are off, well yes off they may be, but not quite for the reasons she wishes they were off for! The way this person Vile will twist and distort the the truth at every turn, is nothing short of a disgrace and a direct attack on a small innocent little child. Who else is she hurting with her lies?
The offers maybe off, but obviously they are off for the reason that at the moment thanks to the colossal generosity of Brian Kennedy and his strength of character, he is putting aside a huge amount of money to help find Madeleine McCann.

Thank God for people like Brian Kennedy who have not lost their decency. Brian does not have to comment, his actions speak louder than any words I know of.
Certainly speak louder that the filth and lies coming out of the Vile mouths, no wonder they do not like Brian Kennedy. (Obviously the fact that the Vile ones not liking him, is a big plus for Kennedy, he must be doing everything right)

E.2... I look forward to seeing what this is, it sounds like something pretty darn big to me! I wonder if it is anything to do with them looking to hire all Britain's recently retired 'BEST'? I just hope to God that they get results and they discover where Madeleine is being held.

E.3....Kennedy has this right too, this has got to be a living hell, a living nightmare that this couple are being forced to live through and the remaining few idiots that still think Madeleine was not abducted, ought to be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
They have written Madeleine off on lies, supposition. Also the bullshit from Goncalo Amaral et al and it is simply unforgivable, Madeleine is out there waiting for someone to come and find her and how dare these people denigrate her like this and jeopardise her rescue?

Why are these idiots allowing Madeleine McCanns abductors to get away scott free? Where is the criticism and the condemnation of these low life b**tards?

E.4....It is totally ludicrous, but it should never be forgotten that the shoddy journalism used stories gleaned from the Portuguese press and Portuguese journalists who had axes to grind.

Where did Madeleine rank in their list of priorities?

E.5....Absolutely true Brian, I agree with you 100%. All stops should be pulled out to ignore this dreadfully inept and unprofessional investigation carried out by the PJ, get back to the beginning and start again and see if something can be picked up and a lead found which leads to Madeleine.

I think if those that took Madeleine read Brian Kennedy's words, they need to be feeling afraid, very, very afraid. The only thing that could possibly go in their favour now is that a live, well cared for unharmed Madeleine is found.