Garda Inspector Sam Donegan was a member of An Garda Síochána (Guardians of the Peace), the police force of Ireland. He was murdered by an IRA booby trap bomb while he was on duty on the Cavan/Fermanagh border in 1972. He became the 38th Garda Officer to be killed in the line of duty since the foundation of An Garda Síochána in 1922.
Samuel Donegan was born in Longford on November 20th 1911. At the age of 23 he joined An Garda Síochána. He served in Garda Stations in counties Mayo and Sligo in the early part of his career. In 1967 he was promoted to the rank of inspector and was posted to serve in Co Cavan. He was killed near the border with Co Fermanagh by an IRA booby trap bomb in 1972 at the age of 61.
In 2010 Garda Inspector Sam Donegan was commemorated in a memorial garden for members of An Garda Siochána killed in the service of the State. The memorial garden is located in the grounds of Dublin Castle. At the commemoration a medal was presented to a representative of Inspector Donegan’s family.
Garda Inspector Sam Donegan was murdered by an IRA booby trap bomb on the Cavan/Fermanagh border in the year 1972 On This Day.
Photo by infomatique 
An Garda Síochána Memorial Garden – Dublin Castle