Ex-swimming coach George Gibney arrested in US on foot of extradition warrant

The former Irish national swimming coach, who is in his 70s, is wanted here to face over 50 sex abuse charges. US marshals arrested Gibney in Florida yesterday afternoon. He will be detained there and brought to court, where a judge will decide whether or not he should be extradited to Ireland.

Allegations regarding Gibney resurfaced following a BBC podcast released more than five years ago. The Garda [Irish police] National Protective Services Bureau has been working on a case since. After compiling a file, the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] recommended he be charged with more than 50 historical sexual abuse offences.

Gibney had since left for the United States, leading gardaí to work with police forces there in a bid to secure his arrest.

Gibney served as an Olympic swimming coach in Dublin during the 1980s and 1990s, but he stepped back from the sport following a host of allegations of sexual abuse levelled against him by both male and female swimmers.

Gary O’Toole, one of Gibney’s most successful swimming pupils, was the first whistleblower against his former coach, having communicated with other alleged victims. Another case was taken against Gibney in Ireland, but the prosecution failed due in part to the time that had elapsed since the alleged abuse.

Gibney subsequently left the country. He appeared before Dún Laoghaire District Court in April 1993, charged with 27 counts of indecency against young swimmers. He was also charged with ‘having carnal knowledge’ of girls under the age of 15.

He managed to stop the prosecution by taking a judicial review, where his legal team argued there was a delay in the offences coming to court. The case eventually ended up in the Supreme Court, which ruled in Gibney’s favour. It was then that he left for the US.

The US authorities told Garda HQ yesterday they had taken the former swim coach into custody. Assistant Commissioner, in 2020, the late John O’Driscoll, confirmed at the time that An Garda Síochána were investigating allegations of historic sexual abuse made against Mr Gibney.

BBC Sounds and Second Captains broadcast a podcast series, "Where Is George Gibney?", which included many alleged victims coming forward to deliver harrowing testimonies about alleged abuse.

This included 18 new people who had never spoken publicly about the alleged abuse before. Podcast creator Mark Horgan told RTÉ that perpetrators of abuse want stories to remain in the dark, "so when we started, it was just to get as many people as possible to learn about stories of George Gibney and for survivors to have their voices heard".

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.