So far, one of the biggest current news stories in Ireland has gone completely unremarked upon in American media. It involves what followers of competitive swimming — there, here and everywhere — need to understand about the fate of George John Gibney, coach of the Irish Olympic swimming team in 1984 and 1988, who has been living as a quasi-fugitive in the U.S. for more than a quarter of a century.
Survivors of Gibney’s many alleged and well documented acts of sexual abuse may stand to get some relief from the Irish judicial system at long last. Missing from the associated commentary is a larger truth: This very late dragnet, if it happens, will still leave open the problem of “accountability delayed, accountability denied.” The enablers of this monster have intertwined in the worldwide institutional cover-ups that help youth sports coach sexual abuse continue to thrive.
