A top US police officer has resigned her job to oversee the work of the Garda Síochana, it emerged last night.
Kathleen O'Toole, Boston's first woman police commissioner, said she has accepted a position as head of the new Garda Inspectorate.
Ms O'Toole (52) said she had made her decision in part because of her personal connections to the country, where her daughter Meghan is studying at the National University of Ireland in Galway.
A native of Pittsfield in Massachusetts, Ms O'Toole started her career in law enforcement with the Boston police in 1979. She first came to Irish attention when she served on an international panel headed by Chris Patten, which drew up a police reform programme in Northern Ireland.
Ms O'Toole told a press conference in Boston that she had received the job offer yesterday morning.
Her nomination is expected to be presented formally to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at the Government's weekly cabinet meeting next Tuesday.
Ms O'Toole said she expected to begin work in Dublin on July 1st. In accepting the offer, O'Toole will be taking a slight pay cut from her current salary.
Boston Mayor Tom Menino said Ms O'Toole had been a good leader and a good ambassador for the city.
"It's a blow to me personally and professionally," he said. "I've had a lot of trust in Commissioner O'Toole, but she leaves behind a good command staff." Ms O'Toole announced her decision just days after she released a statement attempting to dampen speculation linking her to the post, saying it would be "presumptuous and inappropriate to comment prematurely".
The appointment is one of the key elements in a plan by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to introduce sweeping changes to the force. Regarded as one of the leading figures in policing in the US, her decision will give the new Garda Inspectorate an immediate standing as it attempts to change the culture of policing, which has been rocked by allegations of corruption and intimidation.
The objective of the Inspectorate is to ensure the Garda Síochana achieves and maintains the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness.