Michael was born in Ballymena to one of the richer families. Due to a condition that developed after his birth, his mother could have no more children, making him an only child. The only child of rich and doting parents, Michael had everything he wanted and always wanted a little more of it. His early years were simple, pleasant and somewhat isolated from the others his age in Ballymena. Encouraged to not associate with the "lower" working class, Michael had a reputation for being a snobbish rich boy until he reached a more rebellious stage in his teen years.
He met and befriended a teenage American, Timothay Donnovan, when he was fifteen, and began spending time with the teenage sons of other workers, including the son of one of the very few Catholic working families in the area, Liam Neeson. Liam and Michael were always very reserved around each other, Liam somewhat disliking the other's company since he was so much younger then he, and "untrustworthy." Michael disliked Liam as well, minor feuds breaking out between the two of them over the course of the next seven years, one of the more subtle yet most damaging was the ongoing war over Timothay's younger sister, Ciara.
Unlike the other three boys in the "group," Michael did not get a job until he was well over nineteen. He and Timothay became best friends quickly, spending more time together then with the other two. Liam himself tended to spend more time with Ciara, piqueing jealousy from Michael. However, Ciara-wise, Michael scored the ultimate goal when he dated her for three months when she was eighteen. However, when she refused to sleep with him, he took other girlfriends over the winter and broke up with her the following summer. Timothay never knew about his sister's dating Michael, nor of their break-up. Liam, however, knew from Ciara; when both he and Ciara saw Michael kissing another woman, Ciara fled inside the house and Liam took Michael and gave him the beating of his life.
When Michael awoke, in pain, head ringing and all his clothes stolen, he had to find a way to sneak home. When his parents caught him sneaking in at nearly three a.m., without clothes, they took that as evidence he was sleeping with women, and demanded he leave the house. Michael took a job--and an apartment--in a pub in a town some ways away and cheerfully ignored/forgot about his parents, who became somewhat resigned to the loss of their 'prodigal.' He determined to get back at Liam somehow, however, and plotted his revenge for years.
After Timothay's mother died, he returned to Ireland and he and Michael remained friends. Thay spent a lot of time over at Michael's, which eventually became known as a party hot-spot, and always open as it was located next door to the popular pub, and was never quiet. He encouraged Thay's engagement, although he caught a few kisses on the sly from Thay's fiance and more then once, too. |
