The telling three-word answer that indicated how George Gibney plans to plead

The Journal

10 hours ago

Jane Moore
reports from Orlando
WHEN YOU WALK into the Four Courts on Dublin's Inns Quay, the building is usually bustling with life.
Under the domed ceiling of the landmark building that houses Ireland's main courts, solicitors and barristers can be seen coming and going in their robes, with some lugging trolleys carrying boxes of files behind them.
Those waiting for their cases to be heard are often seen occupying benches outside the numerous courtrooms, with members of the public – and members of the media – also found wandering the corridors of the 18th century building.
This scene could not have been further from what
The Journal
encountered inside the US Middle District Court in Florida.
Shortly before 9am on Friday morning (that's 2pm Irish time), there was no one to be found on the ground floor of the large, modern building on West Central Boulevard in downtown Orlando save for some friendly security staff, who informed me that electronics were not permitted beyond that point.
In Ireland, journalists are not allowed to broadcast proceedings within a courtroom, though writing on a phone or a laptop is permitted. They frequently file their stories to the newsroom right from where they're sitting in court. In Florida, I was going to have to make do with the trusty pen and paper.
After taking the lift to the fifth floor of the vast, light-filled federal building and walking along the gleaming black-tiled floor, I reached the double doors of courtroom 5C, where George Gibney was the only show in town.
The former Irish national swimming coach was scheduled to appear at 10am for a detention hearing, having been arrested in Florida last week on foot of an extradition warrant from Ireland.
Initially, he was all set to challenge this in the courts. Extradition requests are complex, and it was not clear whether this would be the end of a life on the run, or the beginning of a long, drawn-out process that would potentially not see him return to Ireland for years, if at all.
But on Thursday, while I was less than halfway through a nine-hour flight to the Sunshine State to cover the hearing, freshly-filed court documents confirmed that he had agreed to be returned to Ireland. It is not known what changed his mind.
Inside the courtroom, the 77-year-old was already in place waiting for the hearing to begin.
He was sitting in a wheelchair in front of a desk on the right of the room speaking quietly to his defence lawyer Aisha Nash. Twice, he looked over at the three journalists sitting at the back of the wood-panelled room on the left. The large courtroom was almost empty, aside from staff and a security guard.
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Seeing him sitting with his fingers intertwined in his lap, looking old and frail and wearing prison-issue clothes with flip flops and what appeared to be bandages on his feet, it was difficult to comprehend the crimes that he has been accused of, which span decades.
Previous case collapsed
Gibney was an internationally-renowned swimming coach in the 1980s and early 1990s. In Ireland, he enjoyed somewhat of a celebrity status and regularly appeared in the media as the celebrated Olympic coach in a decade where the country saw Gary O'Toole and Michelle Smith compete for medals.
This came to an end in the early 1990s, after six swimmers came forward and made sworn statements to gardaí alleging that they had been abused by Gibney.
In 1993, he appeared in court in Dún Laoghaire facing 27 charges of child sexual abuse beginning as far back as 1967 – though under Irish law, the media was not permitted to publish his name.
What happened next is almost incomprehensible. His lawyers argued that the length of time since the alleged offences meant it could prejudice his right to a fair trial, that the dates of the alleged offences were not specific enough and that he could not hope to find witnesses to establish an alibi.
Gibney's challenge was successful, and the case collapsed. He left Ireland to work as a swimming coach at a club in Edinburgh. But when parents discovered the allegations against him, he fled to the United States in 1995. He has been there ever since.
In 2020, Gibney was brought back into the spotlight by the
BBC and Second Captains podcast titled 'Where is George Gibney?'
, which covered the history of the sexual abuse allegations against him.
The ten-part series featured interviews with swimmers he allegedly abused as well as coaches he worked with and journalists who reported on his alleged crimes at the time, interwoven with the producers tracking him down to Altamonte Springs, a small city in Florida.
The podcast prompted four women to come forward to gardaí and allege that Gibney had sexually abused them between 1971 and 1981. They were aged between eight and 15 when the alleged abuse took place.
Their allegations are the reason why Gibney was sitting in an Orlando courthouse today.
'All rise,' the bailiff said as Magistrate Judge Daniel C Irick entered courtroom 5C at 10.04am. All did rise, apart from Gibney, who put his two hands together in a prayer motion and nodded at the judge.
After confirming that he had received the affidavit from Gibney's legal team in which he consented to be extradited to Ireland, Judge Irick asked that he be placed under oath and moved in front of a microphone so that he could hear him clearly.
'Mr Gibney is in desperate need of glasses,' defence lawyer Aisha Nash said when asked if her client had the affidavit in front of him. She told the judge that while he 'can't see too well', she had read through the document verbatim with Gibney and that he understood that he was waiving his right to a hearing and agreeing to be returned to Ireland.
A telling response
Judge Irick proceeded to go through the waiver with Gibney to confirm what he had sworn to. After each question the judge posed, Gibney looked from the bench to Nash, who then repeated the question to him.
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'Do you admit that you are the individual whom charges are pending against?' the judge asked.
'Yes,' Gibney answered.
He answered yes to almost every question in a low, somewhat hoarse tone, apart from to say 'no' when asked if he had a medical condition or mental issue, and when asked if he had been coerced in any way into his decision to waive his rights.
But the answer that stood out from the 11-minute hearing came after the judge asked Gibney if he understood that he could challenge the extradition request. 'Oh, I will,' he said clearly.
There was a brief moment of pause before his lawyer leaned in to clarify the question to him. She could be heard saying 'not here', and appeared to be explaining to him that while he was not challenging the extradition request to Ireland, he was free to challenge the case against him once he is returned. This was followed by a 'yes' into the microphone from Gibney in answer to the judge's question.
His initial three-word answer was telling. From a man who has not been heard from for nearly 30 years, who is accused of sexual abuse dating back five decades, it was a clear indication that he intends to fight the charges.
Before the hearing concluded at 10.15am, Judge Irick said Gibney had answered all of his questions appropriately, and he ordered that he be extradited to Ireland. All-but-one rose again as he left the courtroom, and Gibney was wheeled out by two US Marshals.
He will remain in custody in Orange County Jail until his extradition. This is a process that can take months or sometimes years to finalise, but a source has told
The Journal
that the planning is well underway.
It is expected that a date will likely be decided next week.
Once he returns to Ireland, Gibney will be brought to court, hear the charges against him read aloud and asked how he intends to plead.
If his telling response today is anything to go by, it looks likely that he already knows how he intends to plead.
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