Posted 25 February 2009
Dermot Gallagher appointed Chairman by University College Dublin Governing Authority
The Governing Authority of University College Dublin approved the appointment of a new independent Chairman, Mr Dermot Gallagher on Tuesday 24 February 2009. Mr Gallagher replaces Mr Kieran McGowan, who chaired the Governing Authority since February 2004.
Mr Dermot Gallagher is a graduate of University College Dublin (BA, MA). A native of Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, he joined the diplomatic service in 1969 and spent the early years of his career in San Francisco; at the United Nations in New York; and in London. He was seconded to Brussels in the early 1980s as a deputy chef de cabinet with the European Commission.
Mr Gallagher subsequently returned to the Department of Foreign Affairs and was later appointed Ireland’s ambassador to Nigeria. From 1991 to 1997 he served as Ireland’s ambassador to the United States of America.
On his return to Dublin, Mr Gallagher held the post of second secretary general with responsibility for British-Irish relations, including Northern Ireland policy and the negotiation and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
Appointed Secretary General, Department of An Taoiseach, in 2000, Mr Gallagher returned to the Department of Foreign Affairs as Secretary General in July 2001. He continued to be active in diplomatic relations with Northern Ireland and was closely involved in the efforts to establish a stable power-sharing administration. He held this post until he retired in January 2009.
In February 2009 Mr Gallagher was nominated by the Government to be Chairman of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
One of the most distinguished civil servants of his generation, Mr Gallagher is a highly respected figure in international diplomatic circles.
“We have benefited greatly from the guidance given and leadership shown by Kieran McGowan during his five-year term of office as Chairman and on behalf of the Governing Authority I thank him for his considerable contribution to UCD’s emergence during this period.” The president of UCD, Dr Hugh Brady said.
“We are deeply fortunate to have a new Chairman of the calibre of Dermot Gallagher. And, while we do not underestimate the challenges faced by the university over the coming term of the Governing Authority, we firmly believe that, with Dermot Gallagher in the chair, we have the ability to go from strength to strength.”
