Born: June 29th, 1960
Died: September 27th, 2024
John O’Driscoll was an assistant commissioner of An Garda Síochána who was liked and admired throughout the force, as well as in wider society. He was a gifted leader and a skilled communicator who worked quietly but effectively. While he approached problems with energy and determination, he was unruffled by unexpected events. They would prompt him merely to double down rather than admit defeat.
As he rose within the force, he became adept at strategising and innovating. Under his direct leadership, gardaí broke the grip of gangland figures – including the late notorious heroin dealer Tony Felloni, whom O’Driscoll described simply as “an evil man”. He turned his attention to the Kinahan family, whose transcontinental drugs business was disrupted severely, if not fatally, largely through an international law enforcement coalition that O’Driscoll assembled.
While a young beat garda in Dublin’s north inner city, he worked closely with the community at a time when the scourge of heroin was taking a grip and laying to waste families in disadvantaged areas. Appreciative condolences posted on RIP.ie following his unexpected death are testament to the gratitude for his efforts still felt by many in those communities.
As O’Driscoll’s seniority grew, frontline colleagues felt he nonetheless retained an affinity for them, knowing the challenges they faced, and that he had their backs. “Administrators at that level often don’t understand. He was the exception,” said one.
O’Driscoll was born in Santry in north Dublin. His father Sean, known as John professionally but as Sean within his family, was from Ahiohill, near Bandon, Co Cork, and was also a member of An Garda Síochána, serving as chief superintendent in charge of the central detective unit, then located in Dublin Castle.
John junior’s mother Margaret, Peg (née O’Brien), was also from Cork and had a connection to the family of Michael Collins. Peg O’Brien’s home was at Sam’s Cross, next door to the Collins family homeplace, and her father, Michael, was a first cousin to Collins.
John was the fourth of five children. He attended Holy Child National School at Larkhill in Santry, and went on to Marian College in Ballsbridge.
His first job on leaving school in 1977 was with Texaco Ireland, where he worked for four years as a computer operator and PR assistant. In 1981, inspired no doubt by the example of his father, he joined the guards, and after training was assigned to duty in Fitzgibbon Street, Dublin.
After three years, he was assigned to the crime taskforce operating within the Dublin Metropolitan Area and in 1987 was promoted to detective, and stationed at Fitzgibbon Street. Save for a year as a sergeant in Rathangan, Co Kildare, until the end of the 1990s he served variously in Store Street, where he was in charge of community policing, the Dublin north-central drug unit, where he was sergeant-in-charge, and then as inspector in the Bridewell.
During his time in the north inner city, O’Driscoll became involved in the community beyond the normal preserves of law enforcement, helping to steer young people towards sport (he was an enthusiastic runner) and boxing. “He would say these were the happiest years of his service,” said his brother Donal, who also served in An Garda Síochána. “He was always looking at angles on how to improve things. He brought all sides in.”
In 2000, he was transferred into the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), to which he was appointed head in 2009, following a two-year stint in Swinford, Co Mayo, as superintendent there.
As chief superintendent in the GNIB, he oversaw prosecutions against child traffickers and people smuggling. Ben Ryan, the head of criminal justice policy at the Department of Justice, noted in a personal tribute that O’Driscoll’s approach was rooted in human rights and that “he always treated everyone with respect and dignity and others followed his lead”.
In 2014, he took over as head of the National Drugs Unit and the following year as head of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. His promotion to assistant commissioner in 2016, with responsibility for combating organised and serious crime, coincided with a determined effort to staunch the murderous feud between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs, which began the previous year, and disrupt their activities. In this, the guards were ultimately successful, partly by introducing armed patrols in areas frequented by members of both gangs, and by garnering intelligence leading to multiple convictions.
To combat the Kinahans’ drug and money laundering cartel, O’Driscoll engaged with the authorities in Dubai, and in the United States, to create an international law enforcement coalition. This resulted in sanctions being levelled against Christy Kinahan senior, and his sons Daniel and Christy, the latter attracting a $5 million arrest-leading-to-conviction reward put up by the US State Department.
O’Driscoll was a man of few words, but those spoken were chosen carefully. “He was polished and careful,” his brother Donal remembers. “He lived and breathed the job and worked legendary hours. He was a very energetic person, on the face of it, quite shy and retiring and even tempered. But he was so good in terms of his communication skills. He was a leader.”
O’Driscoll met his future wife Muriel Feerick, an official at Allied Irish Banks, in 1985. They married two years later and had three children – Michelle, Laura and Seán.
Away from work, O’Driscoll’s main interests were his wife and children, in whose lives he played a big role despite the pressures of work. He won a camera in a raffle and used it to record special family occasions. He was an avid reader of books and of this newspaper. He was hugely interested in history, politics and current events, and enjoyed genealogy and watching big sporting events.
When his son Séan obtained his small plane pilot’s licence, his father did not hesitate to be his first passenger. “He never missed a family event. At work, he was a problem solver and his door was always open. It was the same at home. He was always calm,” Séan recalls.
O’Driscoll retired in 2022 after 41 years, having extended his service by two years beyond the statutory retirement age because of the importance of his work against organised crime. In retirement, he wrote a memoir, On Duty: Reflections on a life in the guards, which will be published by Gill later this month. He was a trustee of Sage, the advocacy service for older people.
His adult education attainments were extensive. He was awarded a BA in public administration (1991) by the Institute of Public Administration, an MSc in drugs and alcohol policy by Trinity College (2000), a certificate in project management by the Waterford Institute of Technology (2009) and an advanced diploma in asylum and immigration law by the King’s Inns (2015).
He led a physically active, and at times adventurous, life, including doing two parachute jumps. He rowed with the guards. It was while jogging that he suffered a suspected heart attack.
Speaking as he retired, he said: “The main objective for me over the course of my career has been to provide a service to the public. I hope that my career has served that purpose and that there have been some benefits to those who have been victims of crime.”
He is survived by Muriel, Michelle, Laura, and Seán, his sister Marguerite, brothers Brian, Mick and Donal, Laura’s partner Paddy, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family.