Colleran’s promotion in Garda ranks leads to appointment of O’Sullivan as Clare’s new Chief Supt

*Chief Supt, Seán Colleran.

SEÁN COLLERAN’s promotion within the Garda ranks means that a new Chief Superintendent is to be appointed for the county.

An Garda Síochána confirmed on Thursday morning that Galway native Colleran has been appointed Regional Chief Superintendent of the North Western Region. He will be based at Monaghan Garda Station.

Colleran was appointed to Chief Supt in Clare in June 2019 succeeding Michael Gubbins who was three months in the role before landing a promotion to run An Garda Síochána’s special crime operations. He became the third Chief Supt in the space of six months following the retirement of John Kerins.

Prior to the Clare role, Seán worked in senior roles in a number of Garda stations in the West of the Country such as Superintendent in Westport and Superintendent of the crime hub in the Galway Division.

He oversaw the Clare Garda Division during the pandemic, a time which saw local Gardaí pay regular visits to cocooning elderly members of the population. He had initially expressed his desire to oversee the merger of both the Clare and Tipperary Divisions.

Former Ennis and Ennistymon Superintendent, Derek Smart moves from his role as Chief Superintendent of the Tipperary Garda Division back to the Limerick Garda Division. The Limerick City native spent three years working in the Clare Garda Division.

It’s part of the planned amalgamation of the Clare and Tipperary Garda Divisions with Chief Superintendent Colm O’Sullivan announced as the Chief Supt for the merged units. He is to be based at Ennis Garda Station.

Cork native O’Sullivan previously had a spell as Superintendent in Ennistymon. He is noted for his experience in major emergency planning. In 2015, he was appointed as the regional officer at the Risk, Compliance and Continuous Improvement Office in Cork.

O’Sullivan will become the first ever Chief Supt of the joint Clare and Tipperary Garda Divisions. He will be the fourth Chief Supt based in Co Clare in the space of under four years (46 months).

The appointments take effect from Monday.

Meanwhile, two-time All-Ireland winning Clare hurler Ollie Baker has been promoted to the role of Superintendent. He will be assigned to the Nenagh Garda District.