Dermot Gallagher (civil servant)
| Dermot Gallagher | |
|---|---|
| Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs | |
| Succeeded by | David J. Cooney |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Dermont Anthony Gallagher 1944 Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, Ireland |
| Died | 15 January 2017 (aged 72) Dublin, Ireland |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Dermot Anthony Gallagher (1944 – 15 January 2017) was an Irish civil servant and the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He left office as Secretary-General on 24 January 2009 and was replaced by David Cooney, former Ambassador to the United Kingdom. In February 2009 he was nominated to be Chairman of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and was appointed Chairman of University College Dublin Governing Authority.
Gallagher was born in Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, where he played at left half forward for Leitrim at minor and Under-21 level. He was the son of a Garda sergeant. His interest in the wider world was sparked by observing Guinness barges arriving in his native town and speculating about their places of origin. This curiosity was refined under the tutelage of Professor Desmond Williams, who taught a course on diplomatic history at University College Dublin.
Having taken his MA in History at UCD, Gallagher joined the Civil Service applying for a position in the Department of External Affairs, as it was then called, starting in the job on 6 January 1969. His first minister was Frank Aiken, who usually talked to him in Irish, having learned that his new junior official was fluent in the language. Later that year, Aiken was succeeded by Dr Patrick Hillery and then the event took place that was to shape Gallagher’s life: the North erupted into violence.
On Saturday, 16 August 1969, Gallagher, as weekend duty officer for the department, encountered a group of nationalist MPs from the North, including Paddy Devlin, who arrived at Iveagh House demanding to meet Taoiseach Jack Lynch to obtain arms for the beleaguered Catholics of the Falls Road in Belfast. He told them he would convey their request for a meeting to his superiors in the department.
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