BILL KENNEALLY, THE 73-year-old prolific child abuser from Laragh, Summerville Avenue, Waterford was sentenced in 2016 to 14 years in prison for abusing 10 boys from 1984 to 1987.

He is a former sports coach and a tallyman for Fianna Fáil, with strong family links to that party. In May of last year, Kenneally also received a four-and-a-half-year sentence for abusing five boys between December 1979 and March 1990.

Last month, he appeared in front of a State inquiry formed to examine how State agencies and organisations handled reports of his crimes from the 1980s onwards. Formed after a campaign by his victims, the Commission of Investigation heard from victims, senior gardaí, the clergy, the former South Eastern Health Board and a number of retired Fianna Fáil politicians and party members.

During his appearance, Kenneally was unrepentant, causing upset to those in attendance, including his victims. So, what did we learn, if anything via this inquiry about the mindset of this abuser and the handling of his case by authorities over many years?

We’re joined on this week’s episode of The Explainer by our own reporter Eoghan Dalton who has reported extensively on this case for us.

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Bill Kenneally: How a TD, a priest and gardaí handled Waterford child abuse complaints

https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/the-state-inquiry-into-the-bill-kenneally-case-what-have-we-learned?si=283cab3a22d4446d9dc6fc05c35802a2&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

This episode was put together by presenter Laura Byrne, senior producer Nicky Ryan, and executive producer Sinéad O’Carroll.