How the 'Where is George Gibney?' podcast helped secure a conviction 33 years on

Swimming coach George Gibney has been convicted and sentenced decades after first being charged in Dublin. A podcast is credited with helping bring the case to a close.

Gibney conviction: the podcast that kept the case alive

TheJournal.ie reports that Mark Horgan, co-creator of the Second Captains/BBC podcast Where is George Gibney?, has spoken publicly about the paedophile swimming coach's criminal conviction and sentencing — 33 years after he was first charged in a Dublin court.

Horgan joined presenters Sinéad and Niall to reflect on a case that had, for decades, appeared unresolvable to Gibney's victims. The trio examined how journalism intersected with the long-running story and why the global reach of podcasting proved decisive in bringing it to a conclusion.

The podcast's international audience, Horgan argued, was central to applying the pressure that made a previously impossible outcome achievable. Gibney had evaded accountability for decades before the conviction was secured.

The conversation also turned to the broader question of what sports journalism is for — including how smaller, less high-profile investigations can carry their own significance and motivate reporters to pursue difficult stories over extended periods.

Source: TheJournal.ie