US court orders George Gibney’s extradition to Ireland

By Cate McCurry, PA

A US judge has ordered the extradition of former Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney to Ireland.

US magistrate Judge Daniel Irick made the order at a hearing in Florida on Friday.

Mr Gibney appeared in federal court in Orlando before Judge Irick.

In court documents, seen by the PA news agency, it stated that Mr Gibney is sought by the Government, which has filed charges against him and obtained a warrant for his arrest.

Mr Gibney has been charged with 78 counts of indecent assault and one charge of attempted rape against four minor females aged between eight and 15 years at the time of the alleged offences.

Earlier this week, Mr Gibney had agreed to being extradited from the US to stand trial over multiple sex offence charges.

He also withdrew a request to contest his continued detention, which was due to be heard in court on Friday.

Mr Gibney, who had sex offence charges against him dismissed in the 1990s, has lived in the US for years.

He was arrested on an Irish extradition warrant earlier this month.

An order was made to remand Mr Gibney into the custody of the US Marshal pending the arrival of representatives of the Irish Government to transport him back to Ireland.

It was also ordered that the transfer of Mr Gibney from custody will take place at a time agreed by the US Marshal and the Irish Government authorities.

Mr Gibney’s lawyer, Alec Fitzgerald Hall, said on Thursday that after meeting his client to discuss the case, the former swimming team coach agreed to be extradited to Ireland.

Mr Gibney will be extradited to Ireland and is likely to appear before a Dublin court, however it is not yet known when this will take place.

In 2020, the podcast Where Is George Gibney, produced by Second Captains and the BBC, highlighted allegations of abuse against Mr Gibney and prompted new complainants to come forward.