Paedophile national swim coach living in Co Cavan

CONVICTED paedophile Derry O’Rourke is living in Co Cavan, it emerged yesterday.

The disgraced former national swimming coach, who was jailed for a string of sex offences carried out while in senior coaching roles, is understood to be living in a town in Co Cavan.

On RTÉ Radio’s Liveline programme yesterday a caller said O’Rourke’s identity was widely known in the area.

“He is living around here, you’d think he was the lord mayor the way he goes around, doing his shopping,” the woman, named Helen, said.

She said he attends Mass every morning, where he receives Holy Communion. She likened his demeanour to that of “a soldier”, saying he walks with his shoulders back.

The woman said O’Rourke had been living in the area for a year-and-a-half, but that “nobody speaks too much about him” and that no one speaks to him.

Mr O’Rourke, in his 60s, was released from prison in March 2007 after serving nine years of a lengthy sentence for sexually abusing girls as young as 10.

He pleaded guilty in 1998 to 29 sample charges of abusing 11 girls aged under 15, but faced a string of other charges.

When it emerged that he was living in the Baltinglass area in Co Wicklow in 2007 protests from local people led to him moving.

News of him living in Co Cavan has sparked painful memories for his victims and those who suffered shocking abuse carried out by other senior figures in Irish swimming, such as George Gibney, Frank McCann and Fr Ronald Bennett. Gibney is understood to be living in America.

Aidan O’Toole, father of Irish swimming great Gary O’Toole and one of the whistleblowers who first exposed the abuse being carried out by O’Rourke and others, said Gibney was “doing a tour of America”.

One of Gibney’s victims, Lorraine Kennedy, told Liveline that she was abused by Gibney when she was nine years old.

She claimed that in her view, wherever Gibney is in the world he is likely to be abusing children.

“Why would he stop? Because to me, unless he went and got help, which he didn’t.”

Fifteen civil actions taken against Swim Ireland and Derry O’Rourke were settled in February 2008 for what is understood to be a substantial sum.