Survivors reflect on 'closure' following Kenneally death

Two survivors of abuse by former basketball coach Bill Kenneally have expressed that his recent death has brought them a measure of closure. Kenneally, who abused teenagers in Waterford during the 1970s and 80s, died while serving a jail term at Midlands Prison. He had pleaded guilty to 10 sample counts of indecently assaulting 10 boys.

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Last week we got closure from the Commission of Investigation's report, total vindication, and obviously there is a huge amount of closure there. But then, for this to happen, it's like it has come full circle now. Look, I don't celebrate anybody's death, I don't mourn it or anything, but certainly I feel that it has just come full circle now, and it's just full closure.

Kenneally's death occurred just days after it was announced that victims and survivors would be offered a full and formal State apology. The Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, confirmed that a memorandum would soon go to Cabinet to initiate the process of offering this apology.

Jason Clancy and Kevin Keating, two of Kenneally's victims who previously waived their anonymity to advocate for a Commission of Investigation, described the events as a "full circle moment." Clancy stated that receiving vindication from the Commission's report last week provided significant closure, and Kenneally's death has now completed that circle. He added that while he does not celebrate or mourn the death, it signifies a complete closure.

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I don't take any pleasure in him dying, but for me, I would have preferred him to be alive for every single minute of his sentence. He [Kenneally] was never going to do any harm again to anybody. So, it is an end of a chapter, it's a close of a chapter. He doesn't rule over me anymore. That finished when he went to jail.

Mr. Keating expressed that he would have preferred Kenneally to serve his full sentence, stating he took no pleasure in the death. However, he acknowledged that Kenneally could no longer harm anyone, marking the end of a chapter where Kenneally no longer held power over him. Both survivors emphasized the importance of Kenneally witnessing the outcome of the investigation into how his abuse was handled.

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It was huge, massive, massive… and the reason f