The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast: 'Hell is not the proper place for' Bill Kenneally

Abuse survivor Simon O’Toole talks about the 'monster’ Bill Kenneally’s death on the The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast

Simon O’Toole was abused by Bill Kenneally from the age of 11.

Fri, 19 Jun, 2026 - 14:15

Deirdre O'Shaughnessy

Just one week after the publication of a wide-ranging report into the cover-up around one of Ireland’s most prolific and sadistic child abusers, paedophile Bill Kenneally died in prison on Thursday.

Survivors estimate that Kenneally abused at least a hundred boys and potentially many more, aided by the total impunity being a member of a powerful political family conferred on him.

One of those boys, Simon O’Toole, was abused by Kenneally from the age of 11. In today’s episode, he shares how he went from being a clever, engaged child to an angry, hostile young man as Kenneally’s abuse impacted every aspect of his life.

He describes his battles with alcohol addiction and violence during his forty-year struggle to deal with the impact of years of sexual abuse, torture and degradation.

After sixteen detoxes, eleven rehabs, and two dozen hospitalisations, it was a conversation about giving up alcohol with the New York nurse who saved his life that finally forced him to confront what he was running from.

At almost 60, Simon says the vindication of the report and Kenneally’s death represent a turning point for him, and for the 11 year old boy who was “sacrificed” to protect powerful men’s reputations.

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