Dónall Ó Cualáin (born 4 November 1957) is a former Irish
Garda who served as Acting
Garda Commissioner
The Garda Commissioner ( ga, Coimisinéir an Gharda Síochána) – officially known as the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána – is the head of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of the Republic of Ireland. The Garda Commissione ...
from September 2017 to September 2018, after the resignation of
Nóirín O'Sullivan
Nóirín O'Sullivan (born 3 November 1960) is an Irish Garda who has served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for Europe at the International Association of Chiefs of Police since October 2017. She previously served as Garda Commissioner fro ...
.
Biography
From
Carna in the
Gaeltacht
( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...
area of
Connemara
Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
,
County Galway, Ó Culáin is a fluent
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
speaker.
He was appointed Deputy Garda Commissioner and Head of Governance and Strategy on 20 October 2015.
Following the resignation of
Nóirín O'Sullivan
Nóirín O'Sullivan (born 3 November 1960) is an Irish Garda who has served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for Europe at the International Association of Chiefs of Police since October 2017. She previously served as Garda Commissioner fro ...
, Ó Cualáin was appointed as Acting Garda Commissioner on 11 September 2017, by the
Minister for Justice and Equality Charles Flanagan
Charlie Flanagan (born 1 November 1956) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since 2020, and previously from 1987 to 2002, 2007 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the Laois const ...
.
PSNI
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...
Deputy Chief Constable
Drew Harris was announced as the 21st Garda Commissioner by the
Government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...
on 26 June 2018. Ó Cualáin remained in place as Acting Commissioner until the official appointment of Harris on 3 September 2018, after which he retired.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:ÓCualáin, Dónall
Garda Commissioners
Living people
People from County Galway
Alumni of Garda Síochána College
1957 births
21st-century Irish people