Deep Deception

In November 2009 former national and Olympic swimming coach Ger Doyle was convicted of thirty-five sexual offences against children. This is just the most recent of an appalling series of child sexual abuse scandals in Irish swimming. Long before Ger Doyle was charged, renowned swimming coaches George Gibney, Derry O’Rourke and Frank McCann had become synonymous with some of the worst crimes against children ever to come before the Irish courts; Fr Ronald Bennett, founder of the Schools Swimming Association, was also charged with sexual assaults against his pupils. All these coaches, the most respected in the sport, preyed on young swimmers. They exploited their dreams of greatness and betrayed the trust of their parents. Between them, they are believed to have left hundreds of victims in their wake. And the failure of the sport’s authorities to respond adequately to complaints paved the way for the abuse of many more young victims.

In candid interviews, survivors outline the effects of the abuse – psychiatric illnesses, broken marriages, financial hardship, and alcohol and drug addiction. Deep Deception examines the structures of Irish swimming, looks at the reasons these men escaped justice for so long and assesses the measures that have been taken to protect children in the aftermath of the scandals. This updated edition includes new chapters and previously unpublished material.