Garda’s decisions had ‘very grave consequences’ for Bill Kenneally victims, commission told

A senior garda’s decisions in the late 1980s had “very grave consequences” for boys sexually abused by former sports coach Bill Kenneally, a child protection expert has said.

Kieran McGrath told a State-commissioned inquiry he found it “extraordinary” that certain steps were not followed when Kenneally made a verbal admission to now retired Supt Seán Cashman in late 1987.

The fact that Kenneally said “I know why I am here, lads” after being called to meet senior officers at Waterford Garda station left no doubt about the abuse, said Mr McGrath.

Although a boy’s father who complained to Supt Cashman refused to allow his son to be questioned, gardaí could have taken “further steps”, such as seeking appropriate advice and doing “more digging” regarding the claims, he added.

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He said that if the crimes were uncovered and the victims given appropriate support in the late 1980s, they could have been spared a “great deal of suffering”.

Keneally (72), of Laragh, Summerville Road, Waterford, is serving prison sentences of more than 18 years for abusing 15 boys between 1979 and 1990. Garda investigations into his activities followed a 2012 complaint by Jason Clancy of being abused as a teenager by Kenneally between 1984 and 1988.

Supt Cashman told RTÉ Prime Time in 2016 that the lack of a formal complaint by a victim prevented him from arresting Kenneally after the father told him in December 1987 that his son was one of two boys being abused.

The former garda said the man refused on two separate occasions to allow him to interview his son, saying the boy was receiving medical treatment and a doctor advised that talking to gardaí would be detrimental to his care.

He told Billy Kenneally snr, a former Fianna Fáil politician, that it was alleged his nephew was sexually abusing boys. Billy Kenneally snr said he would get him to go to the station, and Bill Kenneally arrived a “broken man”.

There was no evidence to arrest Kenneally who was within days under the care of a psychiatrist, Supt Cashman said.

Last May, Kenneally pleaded guilty on the sixth day of his trial to the sexual abuse of five boys between 1979 and 1990. A 4½-year prison sentence was added to the 14-year term imposed on him in 2016 after pleading guilty to sexually abusing 10 boys from 1984 to 1987.

The Government established the commission of investigation in 2018 to examine the response of State and other agencies to allegations against Kenneally. The commission, chaired by former High Court judge Michael White, held its hearings in private until last week to prevent prejudicing the second criminal case against Kenneally.

Mr McGrath on Tuesday said Supt Cashman’s discretionary actions following the 1987 approach by a victim’s father “fell short” and “do not stand up to scrutiny”.

The garda knew there were other boys involved and could have approached their parents, he said. He also could have cautioned Kenneally before speaking to him.

Mr McGrath said child protection practices in relation to sexual assault were rapidly evolving at the time, with new guidelines published in mid-1987. There was “very little knowledge and awareness” about child sexual assault in the early 1980s, but there was a “ground swell” of change that began in 1983.

Mr Justice White noted an “underbelly of knowledge” was emerging in a big town while “very little was happening” to bring a perpetrator to justice. “A lot of people knew what was going on and in genuine circumstances were told information,” the judge said.

By 1988, he said, senior gardaí “knew of matters of concern”, a secondary school principal knew of claims from two sources and there was evidence one mother informed other parents. He asked about the role of “wider society” in such a situation.

Mr McGrath said there is “much greater responsibility” on professionals, particularly those paid by the State to protect others.

“Ordinary people and families might be out of their depth and they are waiting on somebody else to do something,” he said, adding that parents might focus primarily on protecting their own children.

Although he has spent decades working in the area dealing with child sexual assault, Mr McGrath said he nonetheless found it “gruelling” to read the testimonies of those abused by Kenneally.

“I was very very moved ... It is very important it is recognised and that other survivors realise how much they can benefit from the testimony.”

Mr McGrath said Kenneally’s abuse, which frequently involved tying up or handcuffing victims, was “sadistic, bizarre and ritualistic”. He said Kenneally showed traits of psychopathy, having a callousness and a lack of empathy or remorse.

The commission’s public hearings continues on Wednesday.