Uncertainty remains over whether George Gibney will appear in Florida court today

The 42

11-07-2025

GEORGE GIBNEY IS still listed as required to appear at a hearing in a Florida courthouse today.
But uncertainty remains over whether the former Irish National and Olympic swimming coach will appear in person, after he agreed to be extradited to Ireland where he will face 79 charges in connection with the alleged abuse of four girls.
It will be the first time in 30 years that the former Irish National and Olympic swimming coach will have been in a courtroom, after he fled to the United States in the 1990s.
The 77-year-old, who fled to the US in the 1990s,was arrested in Florida last week on foot of the extradition request from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
He is due to appear at the US Middle District Court in downtown Orlando for a hearing on his continued detention.
He had submitted an application to contest the extradition but it emerged yesterday that Gibney has withdrawn this application and agreed to be extradited to Ireland.
This could mean he may avoid a court appearance today – but court officials have told The Journal that he will still be required to appear before the court when it sits at 10am Florida time (3pm Irish time).
Gibney is facing 78 charges of indecent assault, and one charge of attempted rape related to dates between 1971 and 1981.
The four alleged victims were all swimmers that he coached in a Dublin swimming club when they say he abused them. They were aged between 8 and 15 years old at the time.
The women are only identified by initials. Details of their allegations against Gibney have been seen by The Journal.
Allegations
The first complainant told investigators that her parents were friends with Gibney and his wife, and that she used to babysit his children.
She alleged that on a date between 1975 and 1976, when she was around 11 or 12 years old, she was sleeping having been babysitting Gibney's children in his home when she was awoken by Gibney, who proceeded to sexually assault her. She recalled 'being fondled and feeling uncomfortable' and him touching her breasts.
She said that because her parents and the broader swimming community held Gibney in such high esteem, she felt both that she was 'being chosen and special, but also uncomfortable and wrong.' She never told anyone about the incident.
The woman recalled another incident when she was around 12 or 13 years old. She was using the bathroom in the women's changing room of the Dublin swimming club when Gibney entered and assaulted her. She said that he used a 'soft voice, a soothing voice, that didn't work because it wasn't a soothing situation.'
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She left the swim club shortly after this incident. She told investigators that she remembered Gibney calling her parents to ask what was going on, and feeling 'powerful that he was sweating it out because he knew why [she] left and he didn't know if [she] had told [her] parents or not.'
The second complainant told investigators that Gibney coached her every day. Her mother was friends with Gibney's wife and from the time she was 12, she would babysit his children. She told investigators that he first sexually assaulted her when she was around 13 years old.
The woman said that between January 1976 and June 1977, the abuse happened on approximately a weekly basis in the changing rooms, gym, hall and sauna of the swimming club. She said the abuse involved 'a mix of everything' and that she told her friends about it at the time. They told her that Gibney had also assaulted them.
'Nobody would believe you'
The third complainant told investigators that she swam for another coach at the Dublin swimming club when she was 13 or 14 years old before she advanced and Gibney began coaching her. She said that he would drive her and other swimmers who lived in the same area to and from lessons.
She described one incident between 1980 and 1981 when he was driving her to training. She said he put his hand on her knee, before moving it to her groin. She recalled telling him: 'Get your hands off me or I'm going to tell my Dad.'
She said he responded by telling her she was 'ugly anyways, nobody would believe you.'
The woman said she believed that Gibney was 'testing the waters to see what he could get away with.' After this incident, she stopped going to early swim lessons so that she would not have to take a lift with him, before eventually quitting altogether.
She told investigators that she informed her partner of the abuse in July 2021 after experiencing what she described as a mental breakdown, before subsequently seeking psychiatric help.
A photograph of George Gibney, which was submitted as part of a passport application in 2019.
Gibney taught the fourth complainant how to swim, and she described her view of him as 'hero worship'. She said he was aware that she was part of a big family and did not receive much attention at home.
She alleged that he regularly offered her a lift home before he began assaulting her. This began with kissing and hugging before culminating in an attempted rape. She told investigators that Gibney sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions when she was between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.
Where is George Gibney?
Gibney appeared in court in Dublin in 1993 charged with 27 counts of indecency, after six swimmers came forward and accused him of abuse dating back to the 1960s. Their allegations are not part of the current case against him.
However, Gibney successfully challenged his prosecution in the High Court in 1994. The court ruled that due to how old the allegations were, they could not be properly defended. The State did not appeal the ruling.
Having taken a job in Scotland in 1994, where he coached at an Edinburgh swimming club, he eventually fled to the US in 1995 and has been there ever since. He resides in Altamonte Springs in Florida.
In 2020, the BBC and Second Captains podcast titled 'Where is George Gibney?', which focused on survivors of his alleged abuse, was released. The podcast traced him to Florida, but when confronted by the producers, he refused to speak about the allegations against him.
Following the release of the podcast, the four now-women came forward and told Gardaí that Gibney had abused them. The court documents make extensive references to the podcast and its role in the investigation into Gibney.
A fresh criminal investigation was then launched.
Ireland used an Interpol request to seek Gibney's cooperation with their investigation. In June 2021, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement met and spoke with Gibney to seek a voluntary interview, but he refused to engage with An Garda Síochána and would not consent to the interview.
In May 2023, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) directed that he should face 79 charges. Last October, the Irish embassy in Washington formally made a request to US authorities to arrest Gibney in order for him to be extradited to Ireland.
He was arrested in Florida last Tuesday. Irish and US authorities had planned for the execution of the arrest for over a week.
Flight risk
Gibney appeared before Orlando District Court Judge Daniel Irick for 11 minutes before being remanded in custody.
Documents submitted to the court last week, before Gibney agreed to be extradited to Ireland, state that the former swimming coach would be likely to flee if granted bail and should stay in custody pending his extradition.
In a submission to the court requesting that Gibney be detained and denied bail, seen by The Journal, US attorney Gregory W Kehoe wrote: 'Gibney is a flight risk and a danger to the community.
'As an initial matter, Gibney is alleged to have sexually assaulted at least four minor girls, abusing his authority as their swimming coach, over a period of several years. The seriousness of the offenses for which Gibney is charged in Ireland heightens his risk of flight.'
Kehoe wrote that Gibney's age and the amount of time in prison he ould face also adds to him being a flight risk. 'In relocating to the United States after the first set of allegations was dismissed, Gibney was able to evade the investigation of these allegations in Ireland.
He wrote that allowance of bail in any amount 'would not guarantee the fugitive's presence in court and would invite the possibility of embarrassing the United States in the conduct of its foreign affairs'.
'Either Gibney's danger to the community or flight risk would be enough, standing alone, for the Court to deny any forthcoming application for bail.'
Support is available:
One in Four provides support for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse; you can call 01 662 4070 or email [e-mail]
An extensive list of support services, for people in Ireland and abroad, can be read here.
Written by Jane Moore and posted on TheJournal.ie