David Harrel Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable
Sir David Harrel
Office:Permanent Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Term Start:1893
Term End:1902
Predecessor:Sir Joseph West Ridgeway
Successor:Sir Antony MacDonnell
Office2:Chief Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police
Term Start2:1883
Term End2:1893
Birth Date:1841 3, df=yes
Birth Place:Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Death Place:Lansdown Crescent, Bath, Somerset, England, United Kingdom
Occupation:Police officer

Sir David Harrel (25 March 1841 – 12 May 1939) was an Irish police officer and civil servant.

Harrel was born in Mount Pleasant, County Down, the son of a land agent. He was educated at the Royal Naval School, Gosport, but was too old to join the Royal Navy as a Midshipman when he took the exam and instead joined the Merchant Navy. In 1859, he left to join the Royal Irish Constabulary. In 1879 he became a resident magistrate in County Mayo and in 1883 was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. Although himself a Protestant, he had good relations with the Roman Catholic Church and was a member of several bodies which worked to relieve the poverty of the Irish peasantry.

In 1893, Harrel was appointed Under-Secretary for Ireland, a post he held until 1902, when he retired due to ill-health. He continued to sit on many tribunals and voluntary bodies.

Harrel was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1895, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1900, and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE). He was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland, entitling him to the style "The Right Honourable". In the 1920 New Year Honours, he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), having served as chairman of the Interim Court of Arbitration on industrial questions from 1918 to 1919.

Harrel's son, William Vesey Harrel, served as Assistant Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police from 1902 to 1914.

Arms

Escutcheon:Or a lion rampant Gules grasping with the sinister forepaw a tilting spear erect Argent.
Crest:A bursting grenade Proper.
Notes:Confirmed by Nevile Wilkinson, Ulster King of Arms, 19 January 1909.[1]
Motto:Fuimus

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Grants and Confirmations of Arms Vol. K . National Library of Ireland . 24 June 2022 . 61.