Dermot J. Gallagher (born May 20, 1957 in Ringsend, Dublin, Ireland) is a retired Irish association football referee, who lives in Banbury, Oxfordshire. He refereed in the Premier League of English football until May 2007.

Career

Gallagher first took up the whistle in 1978 at the suggestion of an ex-Football League linesman called Dick Bartlett. He was elected to the assistant referees' list of the Football League in 1985. Five years later he became a Football League referee at the age of only thirty-three. Even by his second season he was regularly handling top division games and was chosen for the new Premier League in 1992. He progressed to the FIFA list in 1994 after only three and a half seasons on the List.

His first ever Premiership appointment was the 2–0 away win by Coventry at Spurs on August 19, 1992, both goals being scored by John Williams.

In 1995, he refereed the FA Charity Shield match between Everton and Blackburn Rovers at Wembley, which the 'Toffees' won with a Vinny Samways goal. In the same year, he was man-in-the-middle for the FA Trophy Final, also at Wembley, when Woking beat Kidderminster Harriers 2–1 after extra time. And to finish a busy year he was put in charge of the Under 20 World Cup Final in Qatar, which was won by Argentina in a 2–0 win over Brazil.

Dermot Anthony Gallagher (born 1944) is an Irish civil servant and the former Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He left office as Secretary-General on 24 January 2009 and was replaced by David Cooney, former Ambassador to the United Kingdom. In February 2009 he was nominated to be Chairman of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and was appointed Chairman of University College Dublin Governing Authority.

Early life

Gallagher was born in Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, where he played at left half forward for Leitrim at minor and Under-21 level. He was the son of a Garda sergeant. His interest in the wider world was sparked by observing Guinness barges arriving in his native town and speculating about their places of origin. This curiosity was refined under the tutelage of the late Professor Desmond Williams, who taught a course on diplomatic history at University College Dublin.

Early career

Having taken his MA in History at UCD, Gallagher joined the Civil Service applying for a position in the Department of External Affairs, as it was then called, starting in the job on 6 January 1969. His first minister was Frank Aiken, who usually talked to him in Irish, having learned that his new junior official was fluent in the language. Later that year, Aiken was succeeded by Dr Patrick Hillery and then the event took place that was to shape Gallagher’s life: the North erupted into violence.