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Tag Archives: Jack Marrinan

Clare man was a force for good in the gardai

Lisdoonvarna native Jack Marrinan’s tireless advocacy improved life for gardai and shaped the modern police force, writes Fiona McGarry ONE hundred years of An Garda Síochána will be be celebrated this year and among the key figures in the force’s history, a Clare man looms large. John ‘Jack’ Marrinan was one of a family of nine from Lisdoonvarna and among the second generation of Garda members to take on the role of guarding the peace in the turbulent period through the 1960s and ‘70s. He travelled to the capital to make his life with the force along with several other Banner men who distinguished themselves in their dedication to duty. Jack’s biographer, former Garda-turned-author, Tim Doyle, describes the North Clare man as “a hero” and a natural leader who fought consistently for better conditions and pay for rank and file members. Instrumental in winning a landmark battle for better working and living conditions for Gardaí, Jack was just 28 when …

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Clare’s Jack a force to be reckoned with in gardaí

Banner man played key role in modernising the service and giving members a voice THE campaign of a Clare native to modernise Ireland’s police force has been documented for the first time in a new book that sheds light on the development of a representative association for the Gardaí. The late Jack Marrinan from Lisdoonvarna was a campaigner for the rights of Gardaí and his impact on the modernising of the force is traced in Changing of the Guard by Kerry native and former Garda, Tim Doyle. Mr Doyle was at Ennis Bookshop on Wednesday last for the Clare launch of the book, which also features the work of Garda Michael Conway. The Barefield man was instrumental in setting up a medical aid fund for Gardaí. Both men were members of what Mr Doyle describes as “the second generation of An Garda Síochána”. “The first generation started when the force was set up in 1922 and it only began recruiting …

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