Eamonn Doherty; EAMONN DOHERTY, who has died aged 86, was a former commissioner of An Garda Síochána. One of the first members of the force to graduate from the FBI National Academy in Washington, he also was the youngest superintendent of his generation.
His appointment as commissioner in 1987 came in the wake of the kidnapping of dentist John O'Grady by subversives and the capture of the gunrunning ship Eksund. Questions about the Garda's performance were raised.
Doherty immediately launched an organisational review of the force, and introduced changes in senior management as well as new structures to improve co-ordination between subversive and non-subversive units and he rationalised structures in Dublin.
In response to intelligence reports of the importation of huge amounts of arms and explosives by the IRA prior to the Eksund seizure, he launched a national search which uncovered more arms in a year than had been found in the previous six years.
He was also responsible for a high-profile surveillance operation targeting leading Dublin criminals, whom he described as "evil men who could not be allowed to win".
Born in Buncrana, Co Donegal, in 1923, he was the son of a cattle dealer who was also a Fianna Fáil member of the urban council. One of nine children, he attended McCready's School for Boys before becoming a pupil at St Columb's College, Derry.
On finishing school, he spent some time working as a clerk with the Board of Works in Fort Dunree. In 1943 he took and passed the Garda entrance exam. After training at Garda HQ in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, he later served in Pearse Street and Whitehall stations.
Promoted to sergeant in 1956, he was assigned to Garda Headquarters, where he was spotted by the then commissioner Dan Costigan and worked in the commissioner's office.
In 1959 he was promoted to inspector and assigned to Naas. Two years later he was promoted to superintendent and there followed six months training in Washington.
In 1968 he was promoted to chief superintendent, and served as divisional officer in the Dublin central area. Moving up the ranks, he became an assistant commissioner in 1978 and deputy commissioner a year later.
Having supervised the introduction of communications equipment to the force, Doherty was later put in charge of administration.
In the mid-1980s he was a key member of the internal review group on Garda training and was closely involved in additional security responsibilities as a consequence of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985.
He enjoyed a cordial relationship with senior RUC officers, including then chief constable Sir John Hermon.
Sport was a lifelong interest. Growing up in Buncrana, he enjoyed playing soccer, and in later life was president of the Garda Rugby Club and chairman of the force's central sports body.
Involved for many years with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, in 1987 he failed by just five votes to be elected president of the organisation.
As chairman of Cospóir, the Irish Sports Council, he regularly featured in the social columns of the Dublin evening papers, something which did not endear him to some senior colleagues.
He was denied an extension of service as commissioner on the advice of Department of Justice officials, who argued it would contravene Government public pay and employment policies. However, it was suggested that it was his so-called direct line to the taoiseach, enabling him to bypass departmental bureaucracy, which cost him the extension.
Colourful and gregarious, he was a popular figure with rank and file gardaí - including those who remember him as a demanding training officer at Templemore.
Doherty had great pride in the Garda. "There's great commitment out there," he said. "You've only to look . . . Young guards taking on armed people, young uniformed guards. That's commitment, that's dedication."
Following his retirement he was elected to the board of Chubb Ireland as a non-executive director, and was elected to the board of Radio 2000, broadcasting as 98FM.
He is survived by his wife Patricia (née Gormley), daughters Deirdre, Patricia and Fionnuala and sons Colm and Eamonn.
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Eamonn Doherty: born December 11th, 1923; died April 24th, 2010