DCU Alumni Awardee Justin Kelly

Justin Kelly is the Garda Commissioner with responsibility for the overall management, direction, and operation of policing in Ireland.

A native of Dublin, he joined An Garda Síochána in 1992 and has accumulated vast experience across varied areas of policing. That includes service as a frontline Inspector in two suburban Dublin districts, with the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and with the Garda National Protective Services Bureau.

In 2001 he was seconded to the United Nations in Bosnia Herzegovina, working to monitor and build the capacity of local Law Enforcement.

In 2020 he was appointed as Detective Chief Superintendent in the Garda Special Detective Unit, tasked with leading the Operational Counter-Terrorism Unit. 

Two years later, Justin became Assistant Commissioner in charge of Serious and Organised Crime with responsibility for the national policing response in areas of drugs and organised crime, cybercrime, economic crime, immigration and crimes against vulnerable persons. 

In late 2024 he was appointed as Deputy Commissioner for Security, Strategy and Governance and in September of 2025 he became the 22nd Commissioner.

In addition to his extensive experience, Justin has made a significant commitment to development through formal education. In addition to his undergraduate Bachelor in Civil Law at UCD and his MBA from DCU, he holds a Masters in Criminal Justice from the John Jay College in New York via the McCabe fellowship, a Masters of Serious Crime Investigation from the University of Limerick, and he has completed a Strategic Command Course with the College of Policing in the UK.

Masters in Business Administration, 2018