ONE OF Ger Doyle's victims has spoken out this week saying he now wants to put his childhood torment at the hands of the swimming coach behind him after a mentally and emotionally gruelling trial.

His victim, who does not wish to be identified, was abused when he was just a young teenager in New Ross Swimming Pool over an 18month period.

He held his silence for over a decade until allegations became public through the media and he eventually approached the Gardaí.

'When you're a young teenager it is something you are embarrassed about, you are incredibly uncomfortable. Especially being a boy, with guys it is something you don't talk about, it is something you want to put to the back of your mind,' he explained.

'You knew when it was happening it was wrong, you felt uncomfortable and awkward. It got to a stage when he (Ger Doyle) was trying it on in different ways over time and it got to a stage when I eventually said no and it ended there,' he said.

'That is it in a nutshell. It was obviously more complex than that. I questioned him and what he was doing and that was enough and he began to back off just in case.'

This victim feels that one of the reasons he was targeted by Ger Doyle was due to his quiet nature as a child.

'They tried to pick on quiet kids and I would have been relatively quiet,' he said.

November's trial was one of the hardest experiences this victim said he ever had to go through and seeing the swim coach take to the stand was a source of great anger for him.

'I had to be there to give evidence and I wanted to be there for the trial to hear what he had to say when he got up on the stand. When he gave his evidence I was angry. I think we [the victims] all felt the same. We were shocked. He was getting up there, coming from a strong Catholic background, and lying through his teeth under oath. It was hypocritical,' he said. 'It was gruelling mentally and emotionally'.

With the end of the trial and the sentencing came a 'huge amount' of closure for this victim, who wanted Doyle to be found guilty even on just one charge.

'It was a bonus that he was found guilty on them all. It was a huge bonus and a huge relief,' he said.

With Doyle facing the next six-and-a-half years behind bars, his victim hopes that the former Olympic and national swimming coach will eventually become remorseful over his actions.

'If it takes six years for him to feel remorseful it will be time well spent – if not, it wasn't worth it,' he said. 'I was happy with the result definitely but he is still fully convinced he is innocent and that is the hardest thing to take away from it.'