Retired Kildare trainer dies in England
The popular figure in the racing industry lived at Crotanstown on the Curragh.
Mr Kennedy died in hospital in Basildon on Tuesday night after spending Christmas visiting his daughter in Essex.
He had celebrated his 75th birthday last Saturday.
Mr Kennedy rode Bigaroon to win the first of his three Irish Cesarewitches at the Curragh in 1970.
He began training in the 1980s and won the 1986 Kerry National with Flute Player.
Tragically, his son Vivian jnr, who was a talented young jockey in his own right, died as a result of a fall at Huntingdon in 1988.
Funeral arrangements will be finalised for Mr Kennedy in the coming days.