Survivor welcomes George Gibney’s 15‑year sentence

Survivor Trish Kearney said it was “wonderful” to see former swimming coach George Gibney finally jailed for historic sexual abuse.

Gibney, convicted earlier this year of 39 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape, received a 15‑and‑a‑half‑year prison term on Monday for abusing four young swimmers in the 1970s and 1980s.

Kearney, who was 13 when she was abused at the Trojan Swimming Club in Blackrock, Co Dublin, told RTÉ Radio One’s Liveline that the verdict confirmed what victims have always known. “I knew I was telling the truth,” she said, adding that fellow survivor Chalkie White also knew the truth.

The case was revived after a 2020 BBC podcast, “Where is George Gibney?”, prompted new allegations and a Garda investigation. Gibney, who had been living in the United States, was extradited to Ireland in 2025 to face the charges.

Although the conviction did not directly address Kearney’s abuse, she expressed solace in seeing Gibney behind bars, calling the sentence a public affirmation of his dangerous conduct and a moment of justice for all survivors.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: SHVETS production / Pexels.