Irish Examiner view: Shambolic Bill Kenneally investigation let down abuse victims

To say the conclusions are damning is a considerable understatement

Bill Kenneally was interviewed by gardaí in 1987 and admitted that he had abused young boys, yet a formal criminal prosecution was not brought against him for another 25 years, during which time he continued to abuse. File picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

The long shadow of child sexual abuse fell across the country again yesterday with the publication of a report into the investigation of convicted pedophile Bill Kenneally.

As Cianan Brennan reported here, the South East Commission of Investigation’s report, presented to Cabinet by justice minister Jim O’Callaghan, examined how State agencies dealt with allegations made against Kenneally.

To say its conclusions are damning is a considerable understatement, not least when the report states that the investigations were “unprofessional, rushed, and inappropriate”.

Kenneally was interviewed by gardaí in 1987 and admitted that he had abused young boys, yet a formal criminal prosecution was not brought against him for another 25 years, during which time he continued to abuse.

Thoughts must first be with those who were abused in this case, who have waited for years not only to see their abuser face justice, but to see just how badly the investigation was handled.

For instance, before interviewing Kenneally himself in 1987, one of the gardaí involved contacted his uncle, Billy Kenneally, a former Fianna Fáil TD.

The obvious question to ask is why, and the report acknowledges a wider context when stating that Billy Kenneally and his brother, Monsignor John Shine, were “prominent public figures in Waterford”, and that “a scandal involving their nephew being made public was not an attractive prospect to them”.

That description of the Kenneally family’s position in Waterford is a masterpiece of understatement, conveying a huge amount to those prepared to read between the lines.

Little wonder that the commission chair, Mr Justice Michael White, called for the introduction of a criminal offence of misconduct in public office to hold accountable those guilty of serious derelictions of duty, but not of deliberate perversion of the course of justice.

Shambolic investigations such as those described in this report lead to victims being ignored, to a reluctance to report crimes, and to suspicion of the investigative process. Lessons must be learned from this appalling mess.

Such arrogance not a good look

A rolling controversy at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin finally came to an end this week with news that the hospital is to stop private maternity care by public-only consultants.

This follows considerable ministerial pressure: As reported here by Niamh Griffin, health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill had indicated that the hospital’s funding could be reassessed, with public expenditure minister Jack Chambers backing her stance.

The background to the controversy is quite simple: The hospital opted in 2024 to allow consultants on new public-only contracts to continue providing private care if they chose to do so. However, this arrangement is not provided for under the Sláintecare agreement, which led to Ms MacNeill’s blunt assessment earlier in the week: “I hope the Rotunda will come back in compliance with Government policy, in compliance with their contract.”

Being found in breach of basic contractual obligations would be a matter of huge embarrassment for many, which made yesterday’s intervention from Sean Daly, the Master of the Rotunda, all the more interesting.

“At the end of the day the Rotunda has always stood for women and babies,” Prof Daly told RTÉ. “We had a fairly significant threat that our funding would be cut.”

Prof Daly went on to discuss staffing levels in the hospital, stating that women could hire a private midwife though he did not mention that Private Midwives Ireland closed down last year.

Describing the Rotunda’s about-turn on private care from public-only consultants in the context of a significant threat to the hospital’s funding, however, is a remarkable attempt to reframe this narrative.

No amount of discussion of the availability of midwives can obscure the fact that, in the health minister’s words, there was “no provision for private work being carried out by consultants on the public-only consultant contract”.

The arrogance from those who did not adhere to the terms of that contract does them no favours at all.

World Cup fiasco

The World Cup begins tomorrow with Mexico taking on South Africa.

Over the next few weeks, we will have a dizzying array of games, controversies, goals, heroes, and villains — and national team strips both eye-catching and repellent — to divert us.

There is no shortage of grim reading in the headlines these days, so even the most casual sports fan can be forgiven for taking solace in tracking the fortunes of countries as obscure as Curacao and Cape Verde, though the latter side has a strong Irish connection in Roberto Lopes of Shamrock Rovers (“It also feels like I am representing Ireland as well as Cape Verde,” ‘Pico’ said recently).

However, the sense of even temporary relief from everyday stresses was confounded earlier this week. A Somali referee, set to become the first person from his country to officiate at a World Cup, has been denied access to the US and will not work at the tournament despite allegedly having a valid travel visa.

Fifa confirmed that Omar Artan “will be unable to train and officiate at the Fifa World Cup 2026” in a statement issued to media on Monday. The governing body passed responsibility for the situation to the US government, saying that they were “informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present”.

It would be an admirable step if Mr Artan’s fellow referees threatened to boycott the tournament unless he is allowed to enter the US.

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