The President of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), Mark O’Meara, has come out as gay.

Speaking to the Garda Review, the Tipperary native shared, “I am now in the final year of my presidency and I felt it was important to talk about this while I still had the platform of the position that I hold.” He added he wants to communicate his experience of being a gay man within the force, “and perhaps inspire others to know it is okay to be open and honest about who they are.”

Having previously worked in the Driving School at the Garda College, O’Meara now oversees the GRA, which is described as “The collective voice representing members of Garda rank.” It encompasses roughly 11,200 officers.

O’Meara hid his sexuality for years, both privately and publicly, but felt it would be “disingenuous” if he didn’t speak up now. “I just wanted to be open and honest and if this interview even helps one member of the GRA and indeed, An Garda Síochána, then it will have been worth it,” he said.

Mark was previously married to a woman, with whom he has two kids. In the interview, he detailed how difficult that time was for him: “It’s not being the real you, the complete you, that affects your relationships with others, in my case it was with my ex-wife and our two children… Not being able to be you is hugely damaging, not only physically, mentally and emotionally, but it also affects your confidence massively.”

His marriage ended in 2014. “We tried counselling but it couldn’t work, so we sat down together and had a conversation. I was just honest and came out to her and subsequently the kids, who were in their mid and late teens at the time.

“That was the most difficult part, but funnily enough it was the news of the breakdown of the marriage that hurt them most, whereby the news of my sexuality seemed to be insignificant in comparison for them.”

11 years on, he and his ex-wife are “still very close”, and Mark O’Meara is now married to his husband, Rory.

Coming out at work was equally nerve-wrecking, and the GRA president said, “for a number of years I struggled to have the confidence I have now”.

“There were times when my daily prevailing thought was ‘will someone look at me and say, he looks gay’ and so up to the point where I came out, my sexuality was definitely one of the most difficult issues I ever dealt with.

“But the moment I came out it immediately became the most insignificant part of me, it meant nothing,” he continued. O’Meara also said that he received nothing but support from his colleagues.

Reflecting on his journey, Mark O’Meara shared, “If I came out sooner, or even been conscious of how I really felt, that I wouldn’t have married or had my children, perhaps wouldn’t have then met my husband. So the timing and what happened over the years is nothing that I regret as I wouldn’t be the man I am or have the things I have today.

“So I have no regrets as such, just perhaps guilt, some justifiable, some unjustified because you find solace in the fact that you were trying to protect your kids from hurt and pain. But in the end, it was for the best as my kids now see a much happier dad and we have a brilliant relationship,” he concluded.

Did you know that this Pride month, you can support GCN by donating €1 when you shop online with PayPal? Simply select GCN at checkout or add us as your favourite charity* at this link to support Ireland’s free LGBTQ+ media.

*GCN is a trading name of National LGBT Federation CLG, a registered charity – Charity Number: 20034580.