Irish Legislator to Representative Speier and More Than 100 Women in U.S. Congress: Help Us Get Justice in the Matter of Swim Coach George Gibney

by Irvin Muchnick

Immediately below is the full text of a letter today from Teachta Dála Maureen O’Sullivan of Ireland’s Oireachtas (Parliament) to Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California. O’Sullivan appeals to Speier and all 107 women in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate for help in pushing federal government executive agencies toward transparency regarding the green card files of permanent resident alien George Gibney, a former head coach of the Irish national swim team.

On July 1, I sued the Department of Homeland Security to force fuller Freedom of Information Act release of the Gibney records in the possession of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The case is pending before U.S. District Court Senior Judge Charles Breyer.

Far below is a list of all the American legislators who were cc’d on the O’Sullivan-to-Speier correspondence.

For complete chronological links to Concussion Inc.’s coverage of George Gibney, and the suspected roles of USA Swimming and the American Swimming Coaches Association in harboring him in this country, see https://concussioninc.net/?p=10205.

 

 

 

 

Dear Congresswoman Speier,

I am contacting you again in relation to the issue we are both pursuing – abuse in swimming circles and in particular, for me, in relation to George Gibney, a former head coach of the Irish National Swimming team and a coach in a number of swimming clubs in Ireland.

I am an Independent (non-political party) member of the Irish parliament, representing Dublin Central who has brought this issue up in the parliament and on national media.

When I spoke in the parliament, on 6th March last, I made the points that these men robbed young people of their dignity, their sense of self, their confidence and self-esteem, also depriving them of realising their potential. Recovery is a slow and painful process; and part of that recovery is when the perpetrators are brought to justice.

George Gibney has never been brought to justice. His victims, and their loved ones, continue to suffer horrifically, one of them dying tragically last Christmas. There are dozens of very credible accounts of his long history of molesting children and athletes in his charge. He was one of a number of other coaches involved in this abuse – similar to what has emerged about USA Swimming.

I believe there has been a litany of mistakes in relation to George Gibney. In spite of being arrested in Ireland in 1993 on 27 counts of indecent assault and unlawful carnal knowledge these charges were dropped. The Director of Public Prosecutions was expected to appeal a court decision but didn’t. A further attempt was made in 2004 but again the case did not proceed.

A number of concerned Irish people and journalists have been working to keep this matter alive. Earlier this year, following my intervention in the Irish parliament and meeting the Irish Minister for Justice and Equality, the Irish police service, An Garda Síochána, are re-visiting the Gibney files. I am assured that this investigation is thorough and they will be carefully examining the papers.

George Gibney has been a permanent resident in the United States for over 20 years and there are questions relating to how this was facilitated.

I am in contact with American journalist Irvin Muchnick who has sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court under the Freedom of Information Act. However Mr Muchnick received from US Citizenship and Immigration Services only 4 pages out of what the agency conceded was a 102 page Gibney visa and green-card file that includes records from law enforcement agencies.

In the interest of those victims, and their loved ones, I am appealing for your support, and the support of our fellow women colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, (I am cc’ing women members), to realise justice for those so horribly abused by George Gibney.

Can you support the calls for transparency from the federal executive agencies in telling precisely how George Gibney got into the United States in 1995 and how he has remained there since? There are suggestions that there was intervention on his behalf by USA Swimming or the American Swimming Coaches Association or both.

I trust that we can work together to get to the truth in order to bring about justice and some closure for abuse victims, in the hope that they can finally move forward in their lives.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Maureen O’Sullivan T.D.

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Congresswoman Louise Slaughter

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

Congresswoman Nita Lowey

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton

Congresswoman Maxine Waters

Congresswoman Corrine Brown

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee

Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren

Congresswoman Diana DeGette

Congresswoman Kay Granger

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez

Congresswoman Lois Capps

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Grace Napolitano

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky

Congresswoman Susan Davis

Congresswoman Betty McCollum

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn

Congresswoman Candice Miller

Congresswoman Linda Sanchez

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers

Congresswoman Gwen Moore

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Congresswoman Doris Matsui

Congresswoman Kathy Castor

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke

Congresswoman Niki Tsongas

Congresswoman Donna Edwards

Congresswoman Marcia Fudge

Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins

Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick

Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree

Congresswoman Dina Titus

Congresswoman Judy Chu

Congresswoman Karen Bass

Congresswoman Diane Black

Congresswoman Renee Ellmers

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler

Congresswoman Kristi Noem

Congresswoman Martha Roby

Congresswoman Terri Sewell

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson

Congresswoman Janice Hahn

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty

Congresswoman Susan Brooks

Congresswoman Julia Brownley

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos

Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth

Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty

Congresswoman Lois Frankel

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard

Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster

Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham

Congresswoman Grace Meng

Congresswoman Gloria Negrete McLeod

Congresswoman Krysten Sinema

Congresswoman Ann Wagner

Congresswoman Jackie Walorski

Congresswoman Robin Kelly

Congresswoman Katherine Clark

Congresswoman Alma Adams

Congresswoman Barbara Comstock

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell

Congresswoman Gwen Graham

Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence

Congresswoman Mia Love

Congresswoman Martha McSally

Delegate Stacey Plaskett

Delegate Amata Coleman Radewagen

Congresswoman Kathleen Rice

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik

Congresswoman Norma Torres

Congresswoman Mimi Walters

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman

*****

Senator Barbara Mikulski

Senator Dianne Feinstein

Senator Barbara Boxer

Senator Patty Murray

Senator Susan Collins

Senator Maria Cantwell

Senator Debbie Stabenow

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Senator Amy Klobuchar

Senator Claire McCaskill

Senator Jeanne Shaheen

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Senator Kelly Ayotte

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Senator Deb Fischer

Senator Heidi Heitkamp

Senator Mazie Hirono

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Senator Shelley Moore Capito

Senator Joni Ernst