Former Waterford TD was told of cousin Bill Kenneally's child sexual abuse in 2001

This was after a constituent had visited his office and told him two boys had been abused by Bill Kenneally. She told the Fianna Fáil TD of a boy known to her who had been stripped, tied to a tree and photographed by Bill Kenneally.

Brendan Kenneally said he was “horrified” by what he was told and this was the first time he had been made aware of any abuse committed by his cousin. He also said this woman was "adamant" he not to go to the gardaí with this information.

He said he then spoke to his father, who was aware of allegations against Bill Kenneally. 

Brendan said his father told him to talk to Monsignor John Shine, an uncle of Bill Kenneally’s, who responded with the words to the effect of “oh, not again”.

The commission, chaired by High Court judge Michael White, is investigating the actions or inactions of State agencies in Waterford at the time the abuse perpetrated by Bill Kenneally took place. This also includes the responses of gardaí, politicians, clergy members, health board officials and others.

Allegations of collusion

Survivors of abuse have alleged there was collusion among agencies which prevented him from being apprehended at a much earlier point.

Brendan Kenneally told the commission of investigation he had no knowledge of the abuse being committed by his cousin until he was told in 2001. 

Both Brendan and Bill Kenneally had been involved in a local basketball club for many years, but Brendan said his involvement came to a halt when he first became a TD in 1989.

Bill Kenneally also canvassed for his cousin in the run-up to elections and acted as a tallyman, the commission was told. It was suggested some victims were very upset to see him come to their door when canvassing, having been abused by him previously.

On Wednesday, the commission heard:

• Brendan Kenneally said he was never informed of, aware of, or observed anything untoward between Bill Kenneally and young boys inside or outside basketball clubs until his involvement came to an end in the late 1980s;
• He said he first became aware of the allegations in 2001, when a constituent came to his office to tell him;
• Brendan Kenneally said he told his father, who was already aware of the abuse. He said his father gave him very little details of what he knew about it. Between Brendan Kenneally and Monsignor Shine, they decided to have Bill Kenneally see a psychiatrist to ascertain if he was still abusing boys. In a verbal report, Brendan Kenneally said the psychiatrist told him Bill Kenneally had not offended for a number of years and was unlikely to offend again;
• Brendan Kenneally said he did not go to the gardaí because he had been requested not to. And, he also “didn’t think [he] had enough evidence] to go to the gardaí”, as he said he was not yet aware of the extent of his cousin’s abuse;
• He said he did not go to gardaí when all of this emerged in 2013 because he believed, at that point, they had all the information they needed;
• Pushed on whether he considered it being made public his first cousin was potentially a child abuser prior to the 2002 general election could hurt his chances of re-election, Brendan Kenneally said this “never entered [his] head”.

After being told of the abuse in 2001, Brendan Kenneally said his priority was to ensure “this was not going to happen to anybody else”. He said he did this by keeping an eye on Bill Kenneally, and particularly his interactions within basketball circles.

Abuse victim's evidence

Evidence given by people who were abused by Bill Kenneally was put to Brendan at the commission.

One recalled an instance in the early 1980s on a basketball trip with members of the club. He was underage at the time, and it was his evidence the rooms to stay in that night were divided up in such a way that he stayed in the same room as Bill Kenneally. He said Bill Kenneally abused him that night.

He alleged that, the next morning, Brendan Kenneally made a comment to him saying “did you have fun last night?”. He also claimed Brendan Kenneally had been “laughing and smirking” over the sleeping arrangement the night before.

Brendan Kenneally's evidence

In his evidence, Brendan Kenneally said he did not recall that trip at all and said he had no idea of Bill Kenneally’s abuse in 1981. He rejected suggestions he was aware of the abuse prior to being told in 2001.

When told in 2001, he said he did what he believed was right but, in hindsight, he may not have done enough. “I didn’t think I had enough evidence at the time to go to anybody,” he said.

Brendan Kenneally also said that maybe he was naive for thinking sending Bill to a psychiatrist was the best solution at that time.

Having not concluded his evidence on Wednesday, Brendan Kenneally will return to finish his testimony at a later date.

Bill Kenneally was first jailed in 2016. He was convicted of abuse on over a dozen boys on dates ranging from the late 1970s to the late 1980s.