Dónall Ó Cualáin (born 4 November 1957) is a former Irish Garda who served as Acting

Garda Commissioner The Garda Commissioner () – officially known as the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána () – is the head of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The Garda Commissioner is appointed by the Government of Ireland (Cabine ...

from September 2017 to September 2018, after the resignation of

Nóirín O'Sullivan Nóirín O'Sullivan (born 3 November 1960) is an Irish Garda Síochána, 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 ...

Biography

From Carna in the

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

area of

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, 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 County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ó Culáin is a fluent Irish speaker. He was appointed Deputy Garda Commissioner and Head of Governance and Strategy on 20 October 2015. Following the resignation of

, Ó Cualáin was appointed as Acting Garda Commissioner on 11 September 2017, by the Minister for Justice and Equality

Charles Flanagan Charles Flanagan (born 1 November 1956) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice and Equality from 2017 to 2020, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence from 2020 to 2024, Minister for Foreign A ...

. PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris was announced as the 21st Garda Commissioner by the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

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 Police officers from County Galway Alumni of Garda Síochána College 1957 births 21st-century Irish people