There was no collusion, the report of the inquiry into Waterford basketball coach Bill Kenneally found.

There was no collusion but there was a “clear and serious dereliction of duty” by two senior gardaí and “objectively favourable treatment” shown to a man from a “very decent, well-thought-of family”.

The curse of deference for the decent family is one that has blighted too many lives in Ireland, and Kenneally was better appointed than most: he counted not just a monsignor, John Shine, but a Fianna Fáil TD, Brendan Kenneally, in his immediate family tree.

No collusion and nothing to see here – just a 14-year-old boy inexplicably turned away from Waterford Garda station in 1985 after he told the officer at the counter he had been assaulted by Kenneally. The garda said he was “too young” to make a complaint.

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There was also an “obvious conflict of interest” by one senior garda, PJ Hayes, and a “completely irrational decision” not to further investigate Kenneally after he admitted to abusing boys in 1987 by another, Sean Cashman. These men “seriously misled” their colleagues about Kenneally.

There was........

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