George Gibney
The real George Gibney, the one who abused dozens of children throughout the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, has been described as Irish sport’s most enduring villain. He was, and still is, the one that got away. The former Olympic coach fled the country in the 1990s after the Irish courts said he could not face trial because too much time had elapsed since the allegations of child abuse were made.
Gibney’s story is one that has floated in and out of the Irish national consciousness over the decades, with various documentaries and articles, and even one book, covering it. But while each of these brought the case to renewed media prominence for a time, it was the runaway success of a recent podcast series listened to by more than one million people that has catapulted Gibney and his heinous crimes back into the limelight. This time, some of those crimes might just stick.
Thirteen-year-old Patricia McCahill is standing on the diving block, focused on making the changes to her breaststroke that she has been working so hard on.