Galway Bay fm newsroom - Acting Garda Commissioner, Connemara-native Dónall Ó Cualáin, will step down from the position at midnight.
Mr. Ó Cualáin assumed the position in September following the resignation of then Garda Commissioner Nóirín O' Sullivan.
Since September, Carna-native Dónall Ó Cualáin has been acting Garda Commissioner as a lengthy campaign sought a replacement for outgoing Commissioner Nóirín O' Sullivan.
Her resignation came as no great surprise to many and followed some twelve months of mounting pressure for her to step down from the position.
Acting commissioner Ó Cualáin, a fluent-Irish speaker, was previously a sergeant on the Aran Islands before becoming a Superintendent and subsequently Chief Superintendent of the Galway garda division.
In 2012, he was appointed as an assistant commissioner and two years later Nóirín Ó Sullivan appointed him as deputy commissioner.
Mr. Ó Cualáin had already been covering the commissioner role during the extended summer holiday period while Nóirín Ó Sullivan was on leave.
At the time, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said it would likely be a lengthy process to select her replacement - but said he was pleased Deputy Commissioner Ó Cualáin was stepping into the role.
However, at that time, Mr. Ó Cualáin announced that while he would remain in the interim position until a replacement was found, he would not be putting himself forward for the permanent job.
Now, Acting Commissioner Ó Cualáin will step down at one minute past midnight, to make way for new Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
Mr. Harris will be attested at Kevin Street Divisional Headquarters in Dublin in a private ceremony to be held just after midnight.
