Death of Samuel Donegan

Samuel Donegan was born on 20 November 1911, and was a native of Ballintampen near Longford in County Longford, Ireland.

Donegan joined the Garda Siochana at the age of 23 years old on 4 September 1934, being issued with the Service No.8586. He received a promotion to the rank of Sergeant in 1952. He had served attached to Garda stations in County Mayo and County Sligo in the early part of his career, until being promoted to the rank of Inspector in 1967, when he was transferred to the County Cavan district.[1]

On 8 June 1972 Donegan was leading Garda patrol in conjunction with an Irish Defence Force detachment on the Ireland-Northern Ireland border between County Cavan and County Fermanagh. In the Drumboghanagh neighbourhood to the South of Newtownbutler they found a tea-crate apparently abandoned in the road painted with comical style lettering saying "BOMB!", which on examination turned out to be empty. Further along the country lane the patrol found a second identical tea-crate, which suddenly detonated whilst they were examining it, the blast killing Donegan and badly wounding the leader of the Irish Army patrol, Lt. John Gallagher. Donegan was in his 37th year of police service, and was 61 years of age.[1][2]

Donegan was survived by his wife and six adult children.

In January 2013, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams issued a statement in which he apologised on behalf of the IRA to the families of Gardai and the families of all members of state forces injured or killed by the Provisional IRA, but denied knowledge of who was responsible for planting the bomb that had killed Inspector Donegan.[3][4]

• List of Irish police officers killed in the line of duty
• Death of Adrian Donohoe
• Michael Clerkin
• Death of Jerry McCabe
• Deaths of Henry Byrne and John Morley
• Michael J. Reynolds
• Murder of Eamon Ryan
• Murder of Patrick Kelly

• Police History