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Victims of Bill Kenneally call on Justice Minister to publish report quickly

By Paul Cunningham- 29/03/2026- RTÉ Radio 1- [Ireland]- [Bill Kenneally]


This Week speaks to Kevin Keating and Jason Clancy, two victims of the convicted paedophile Bill Kenneally who was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in 2016



Two victims of Bill Kenneally have called on Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan to swiftly publish a Commission of Investigation report into the convicted paedophile.


Kenneally had refined a method for entrapping his victims and ensuring that they would not tell their parents or anyone else about his abuse: he took photographs of them naked just after the initial attack.


Worse still, he demanded that his victims smile while the photograph was being taken, sometimes with him in shot, in order to suggest that the crime which had just taken place was in some way consensual.


One of those assaulted in the 1980s, explained how Kenneally re-enforced his reign of terror among boys aged around 14, who he had encountered through sports.


Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, Kevin Keating said: "He abused me on my own, in private. Then abused me ... in front of the other boys. He abused the other boys in front of me and then forced me to do things to the other boys, and forced the boys to do things to me. So everyone was caught up in this circle of, I suppose, secrecy and embarrassment and fear."


A medical report from 1989 reveals how Mr Keating told a paediatrician of the abuse inflicted by Kenneally. A note adds: "There was also threats of violence ... of being told they would be killed or hurt if they told."


Kenneally was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in 2016, for abusing ten boys from 1984 to 1987.


He subsequently received a further four-and-a-half-years for abusing five boys between December 1979 and March 1990.


However, the first complaint made against Kenneally dated back to 1987 but it did not lead to a prosecution.


Why? That's a question which formed part of what was a Commission of Investigation that took more than eight years to conclude its work, and the final report is now sitting on Minister O'Callaghan's desk.


Kenneally's grandfather, uncle and cousin were all Fianna Fáil TDs for Waterford, and part of the commission's terms of reference was to investigate the "knowledge or otherwise of any political figure or public official of the offences being committed by Bill Kenneally."


Commission chair, Mr Justice Michael White, has already described Kenneally's criminal actions as one of the most serious cases of paedophilia ever to be uncovered in Ireland.


What Kenneally's victims want is for the report to be published as soon as possible so that the truth of Kenneally's actions are revealed and the clear failings from authorities are exposed and quickly corrected.


Both the criminal case and the Commission of Investigation flow from a complaint made by one of Kenneally's victims, Jason Clancy, in 2012.


It was prompted when he checked Kenneally's name online and found out that his abuser was now working with a junior basketball club in the southeast.


Fourteen years on, Mr Clancy told This Week: "It's been draining, you know, on the victims and our families as well. And we just need closure now ... so it's so important that the minister doesn't sit on this report, and that it is published as soon as possible."


Mr Clancy's bravery has come at a substantial personal cost.


"I've spent, I think, the bones of six or seven months in St Pat's over the last 18 months. You know, that's the toll it has taken on me ... I just want to be able to, with my family, just be able to move forward."


Being a witnesses in both the criminal trial and the Commission of Investigation has meant that both Jason and Kevin have had to talk about their darkest days.


Those include times when Kenneally would torture his victims by placing them in handcuffs, blindfolding them and hauling them up to the ceiling of his house, via pulleys, before abusing them.


Yet it was the fact that the victims told their stories in court that led to Kenneally's conviction in 2016.


Mr Clancy said: "Look, I have scars on my wrists from handcuffs from him. And seeing him being put in the handcuffs, it was just, it was an unbelievable moment."


That would not be the last time Kenneally's victims saw their abuser - in an unusual legal procedure, the convicted paedophile was taken from prison to give testimony over two days to the Commission of Investigation.


Mr Keating was there when he arrived: "It was shocking because he's still - and I have no problem in admitting it - even though he is convicted paedophile, he still gives off that fear."


Worse still, Kenneally claimed that he had not done anything wrong, and his criminal actions were consensual.


Mr Keating said: "I got upset ... and got up and walked out."


Mr Clancy was sitting beside Mr Keating, and their wives, and he had to leave too: "What he said, it just devastated me. You know, it really, really did. But I had to leave. I couldn't listen to him anymore talking about me."


Despite that pain, both men believe that their campaign for justice has been worthwhile.


Mr Keating said: "I have a beautiful wife and an eight-and-a-half-year-old, soon to be nine years of age, son. But that is my focus: that it will never happen to him, what happened to me."


Mr Clancy agrees: "I echo really what Kevin says, you know. I think we just need closure. I mean, that's what it is. It's closure now."


In a statement, the Department of Justice said: "The Commission [of Investigation] submitted the report to the Minister this week and it will be prepared for publication, following consideration of appropriate legal advice. The department will engage with the victims prior to publication."


If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm.

Dignity4Patients Commentary: The completion of the Commission of Investigation into Bill Kenneally marks a significant and hard-won moment for survivors. The courage it has taken to come forward, to persist, and to relive trauma in pursuit of truth cannot be overstated.


Survivors connected to the Michael Shine case recognise that same long road; the fight to be heard, believed, and to achieve some measure of closure. This report represents more than findings; it represents perseverance in the face of silence and systemic failure.


Credit is due to journalist Saoirse McGarrigle for her commitment to bringing these stories into the public domain with care and integrity. Public awareness is a critical step toward accountability.


Now, the responsibility lies with Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan to ensure the report is published without delay.

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