Former Assistant Garda Commissioner John O’Driscoll was “a true Irish patriot” and “a fearless and dedicated” member of the force who had a great sense of humour and was ultimately a family man, mourners at his funeral have been told.
Mr O’Driscoll (64) retired in 2022 from his position leading the Garda’s Organised and Serious Crime branch and died suddenly last Friday. He was over all of the specialist units in the force and worked with the US authorities to impose sanctions on the Kinahan cartel leadership 2½ years ago.
His funeral Mass at St Brigid’s Church, Killester, north Dublin, was attended by a very large group of mourners on Thursday. They were told that while the deceased was from Dublin, both his parents were from west Cork, which always held a special place in his heart.
Fr Joe Kennedy, who concelebrated the funeral Mass with fellow Garda chaplain Archdeacon of Dublin, David Pierpoint, said the tributes paid to Mr O’Driscoll in an online condolence book were too many to read out. However, a selection of them captured the nature of his service in the force.
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One thanked him “for all you have done for Dublin, you were brilliant” while another referenced his “keen sense of duty” and his “courage and bravery”.
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Mr O’Driscoll’s widow, Muriel, read a poem, The Fallen Limb, while their son Seán spoke about his father and the life he had lived before his sudden death last Friday.
He said the family had “been really overwhelmed” with the level of support, and the tributes paid.
His father had met his mother in 1985 in the Mont Clare Hotel in Dublin city and always said that from the night he met her he knew he wanted to marry her. He added he and his sisters – Michelle and Laura – felt “lucky” as their father was always supportive, “loving, caring and generous” and he would “do anything for us without ever expecting much in return”. The night before he died suddenly, he “insisted” on staying up into the early hours so he could collect his daughter Laura from “just a short walk away” because it was raining.
“He was in very good spirits with her, talking about his excitement for his book, or memoir, launch at the end of the month and about how it would be an opportunity to see all his closest friends and former colleagues again in one place at the launch event,” he said.
Mr O’Driscoll’s brother, Brian, described him as an “exceptional police man and public servant”, adding his book – On Duty: Reflections on a Life in the Guards – which will now be published posthumously, would be a fitting record of his life.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee were among the mourners, as well as Deputy Commissioner Shauna Coxon, several assistant commissioners and a very large numbers of personnel of all ranks from across the Garda. Former minister for justice Nora Owen was also among the mourners as well as former Garda commissioners Fachtna Murphy and Martin Callinan.
Mr Harris presented Mrs O’Driscoll with the Tricolour flag which had been draped on the coffin, along with his Garda gloves and hat.
President Higgins’s aide de camp Col Stephen Howard was in attendance and Taoiseach Simon Harris was represented at the funeral by his aide de camp Comdt Karen Rynn.
A number of items were brought up to the altar, including a photograph of his wedding day, a family photograph from a recent holiday, a copy of The Irish Times, a photograph of west Cork, a book about the history of the Garda, a dog lead, a FitBit and Mr O’Driscoll’s badge from Sage, which he worked for lately advocating on behalf of older people.
The Garda Band also performed and a guard of honour was formed by Mr O’Driscoll’s former colleagues as his remains were taken for burial at St Fintan’s Cemetery, Sutton.
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