A former Irish national swimming coach has been sentenced to 15 and a half years for sexually abusing girls in the 1970s and 1980s.

In July, a jury found 78-year-old George Gibney guilty of 39 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape.

Judge Micheál P O Higgins described him as a "manipulative predator" and said the abuse was systematic and predatory in nature.

Gibney was extradited from the United States of America (USA) to the Republic of Ireland in 2025 to face historical sexual abuse charges.

The victims hugged each other after Gibney was wheeled out of the courtroom.

In 1993 Gibney was charged with 27 child sexual abuse charges but he took a judicial review and succeeded in preventing the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from prosecuting him because of the time that had elapsed.

In 2020 a BBC podcast, 'Where is George Gibney', resulted in a number of people coming forward with new allegations and An Garda Síochána (Irish police) began investigating him again.

The DPP directed that he be charged with dozens of offences and his extradition was sought from the US.

Before his extradition, Gibney had not been back to Ireland in over 30 years.