Above Water: Surviving the onslaught of a serial sexual predator

Trish Kearney was repeatedly abused by swimming coach George Gibney as a child, an ordeal she chronicles in this moving memoir

George Gibney never stood trial for the sexual abuse any of the young swimmers in his care, as the judiciary of 1993 believed that because the offences were in the past on unspecified dates, he could not mount a defence

MEMOIR

Above Water

By Trish Kearney

Hachette Ireland, €16.99

In 1980, when she was 13 years old, Trish Kearney’s childhood was abruptly ended when she became the victim of sexual abuse by her swimming coach George Gibney. At the time, Kearney was a very promising young swimmer with a dream of going to the Olympics, and Gibney was an internationally recognised and respected coach.

Her move to Trojan Swimming Club in south Dublin should have ...