John Whelan Dulanty (1883 – February 1955) was an Irish diplomat. He represented Ireland in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for 20 years, first as High Commissioner and then as Ireland's first Ambassador to the United Kingdom.Irish Foreign Ministry video
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Biography

Dulanty was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to a working-class Irish family. His father was from Tipperary and his mother from Limerick. He was educated at St. Mary's, Failsworth, and at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

where he read law.Obituary, The Times, February 1955, reprinted in ''Great Irish Lives'', edited by Charles Lysaght, 2008. In 1906 he supported

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's campaign as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

to win the Manchester North West seat. This connection with Churchill was to prove important in Dulanty's later diplomatic career as High Commissioner in London.DFA website
/ref> In 1913, he entered the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. He worked in the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He later served as Assistant Secretary in the Treasury. In 1920 he left the British civil service because of his opposition to British policy on Ireland. By the time he left he had been awarded C.B. and C.B.E. For the next 6 years he served as deputy chairman and managing director of the department store Peter Jones, Ltd. In 1926 he joined the

Irish civil service The Civil Service ( ga, An Státseirbhís) of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the departments of state and certain state agencies who advise and work for the Government of Ireland. It consists of two broad components, t ...

and was appointed Commissioner for Trade in Great Britain. At that time he had not lived for any length of time in Ireland, but in the words of ''The Times'', "There was no mistaking that he was an Irishman. He had been a leader of the

United Irish League The United Irish League (UIL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland, launched 23 January 1898 with the motto ''"The Land for the People"''. Its objective to be achieved through agrarian agitation and land reform, compelling larger grazi ...

of Great Britain under

John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as lead ...

and had been busy behind the scenes at the time of the treaty of 1922". In 1930, he became the last High Commissioner of the Irish Free State in London. In 1937, he became the only High Commissioner of Ireland, due to the 1937

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democra ...

coming into effect on 29 December 1937. On Ireland leaving the Commonwealth and becoming a republic, he became Ireland's first ambassador in London in 1950. He retired in September 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dulanty, John 1883 births 1955 deaths Ambassadors of Ireland to the United Kingdom High Commissioners of Ireland to the United Kingdom People from Manchester 20th-century British civil servants Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the University of Manchester Companions of the Order of the Bath British people of Irish descent British businesspeople in retailing