A BUNCRANA-born former
Garda Commissioner has died at the age of 86.
Eamonn Doherty, who was head of the Garda Síochána
for 11 months in the late 1980s, passed away in the
early hours of Saturday at The Beacon Hospital,
Dublin, after a long illness.
The father of AIB managing director, Colm, the late
Mr Doherty was also a well-known figure in Irish
sport following his retirement.
He was chairman of the Irish Sports Council and
patron of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. He
was Government nominee on the EU Task Force on Drugs
during the 1990s and chaired the commission, which
arranged the transfer of air-sea rescue services
from the Air Corps to the Irish Coastguard in 2006.
He received the Ireland Medal Award from the Royal
Life Saving Society for his work on the commission.
Born in Buncrana in 1923, he joined the Gardai in
1943. He was the first officer to be sent to train
with the FBI and later became head of training at
the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, in
his late 30s. He was one of the youngest officers to
reach the rank of superintendent at that time.
Garda Commissioner, Fachtna Murphy, expressed his
sadness at Mr Doherty's passing and extended his
sympathies to his wife, Patricia, daughters Deirdre,
Patricia and Fionnuala, sons Colm and Eamonn and his
extended family including siblings, nieces, nephews
and grandchildren.
"I offer my condolences to Eamonn's wife and family.
Eamonn had a full and productive life, 45 years of
which he gave in dedicated commitment to An Garda
Síochána.
"Throughout his distinguished career, he
consistently demonstrated a high level of
professionalism and dedication to the community.
"This continued to be a marked feature of his life
following his retirement from An Garda Síochána in
1988. In everything he did, he worked to make a
difference to the lives of others in a spirit of
public service," said Mr Murphy.
He added: "Eamonn gave great leadership to An Garda
Síochána during difficult times and his important
contributions in areas such as training and sport
influenced many careers and helped mould this strong
organisation. He will be remembered fondly by his
many friends and colleagues." His funeral will take
place in Dublin on Tuesday, April 27. For death
notice click here. |
