Gerry McNally has spent 45 years at the coal face of the Irish Probation Service starting back in 1978.
“CAPTURE ‘EM, NAIL ‘EM, jail em” will not solve the problem of repeat offenders but including them in the community can positively move people away from a life of crime, Ireland’s most experienced Probation Service officer has said.
Gerry McNally has spent 45 years at the coal face of the Irish Probation Service, starting all the way back in 1978.
He has spent that time working in the courts and the prisons and found himself trying to set people back on a straight track.
He reached the level of Assistant Director with responsibility for research projects, policy briefings and special international projects. He’s also a former President of the Confederation of European Probation (CEP).
It has been a long journey from his Monaghan upbringing and his degree in English, philosophy and psychology. That degree led him to teaching for two years but an interest in probation and the law led him to take a second degree in social sciences.
He had no desire to become a social worker but was fascinated by the growing Irish interest in probation.
