Former swim coach Derry O’Rourke convicted of rape and assault

Derry O’Rourke of Virginia Road, Cavan, a former Irish swim coach, has been sentenced to ten years in prison for the sexual assault and rape of a young girl between October 1989 and June 1990. O’Rourke was the swim coach at the girl’s school at the time. She was only 13 years old when the first assault occurred.

Derry O’Rourke has numerous pre-existing convictions for sexual crimes committed between 1970 and 1992, involving more than 19 child victims. Since his release from prison in 2007, he was the subject of one further trial relating to an attack in 1979, for which he received a suspended sentence of 3 years. The current complaint is the first in which he has not submitted a guilty plea. Despite his claim of innocence, the jury found the 78-year-old guilty of 11 incidents of indecent assault and one count of rape following six days at trial.

Justice Melanie Greally, presiding over sentencing, branded O’Rourke “a serial child abuser”. He did eventually apologise to the complainant for fighting the case, but Ms Justice Greally stated this “rings hollow” after he had accepted the jury’s findings. She identified multiple aggravating factors, including the age of his victim, the fact that Derry O’Rourke took advantage of his position of power in a place where students were entitled to feel safe, the duration and persistence of the assaults, their pre-meditative nature and the risk of impregnating the girl. Only two relevant mitigating factors were cited: O’Rourke’s ill-health and age. Ms Justice Greally sentenced O’Rourke to ten years for the count of rape, 40 months for sexual assaults during which he touched the girl’s breasts and five years for those where he digitally penetrated the girl. These sentences will run concurrently.

Despite explaining that recounting her abuse is “incredibly painful”, the victim bravely read her impact statement to the court at the sentencing hearing on July 30th. She faced O’Rourke directly as she began to detail the “brutalisation” she had suffered. She referenced O’Rourke’s earlier claim to Gardaí that he hadn’t known her and hadn’t encouraged her to train with the swim team, saying, “Derry – or as you said, you prefer to be known as – Diarmuid – isn’t it interesting how I can remember your name, but you couldn’t afford me the same dignity.” She described that the assaults had permanently altered her life, saying, “You took so much that was not yours to take, and nothing will ever get it back.” His attacks were “a warped deliberate manipulation of a child.”

Ms Justice Greally commended the woman for her “immense courage and dignity” while reading her statement. Michael Bowman SC, defending Derry O’Rourke, said the complainant had been “cogent and dignified” and accepted the assaults had a profound impact on the woman. He requested the court take into consideration that O’Rourke had now apologised and accepted the outcome of the trial, stating it “bring[s] some closure and in a public forum acknowledges the truthfulness” of her account. Sergeant Amy Kelly told prosecuting counsel that the victim’s school had an on-site pool for students to swim during “free swim” periods. O’Rourke monitored the free swims and would often single out and ask girls from as young as 13 to join the swim team. This is how the girl ended up training with the team, as many witnesses attested to despite O’Rourke claiming not to have known her.

During training, the girl was placed in a lane by herself, on a different training regime than the others, as O’Rourke claimed she was “very far behind”. Derry O’Rourke then started isolating the girl in a room by the pool to perform “muscle checks”, which were an excuse to feel the child’s breasts. This happened weekly for several months. These “checks” then escalated into incidences of digital penetration. The victim didn’t question the legitimacy of this at the time, as he was her coach and had been given this authority. These incidents continued until the Summer break of 1990.

On her return to training in September, Derry O’Rourke raped the girl in the boiler room. The woman recounted the attack in great detail at trial, describing the smells and sounds she experienced. Derry O’Rourke had her lay naked on the ground for a “muscle check”, he then lay on top of her and forcefully raped her. She remembers his groans while he called her a “Good girl” and told her to “Be quiet”.

Although the girl had been training five times per week until the rape, she then quit swimming and never returned. Derry O’Rourke even spoke to the victim’s father, asking he encourage her to rejoin. The father testified at trial that Derry O’Rourke had tried to convince him by saying she had “potential as a swimmer.” The victim did not report her experience to the Gardaí until 2021, having felt “complicit” in the assaults when they took place.

If you have been affected by similar experiences, our dedicated sexual abuse solicitors at Coleman Legal LLP are here to support you with complete confidentiality. Reach out to us for help. Free phone: 1800-844-104, or email: [email protected].