Leopold H. Kerney (11 December 1881 – 8 June 1962) was the first Irish

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under th ...

to be appointed to Spain and remained at this post from 1935 until his retirement in 1946. He could be termed a "diplomat by accident" as he began his career in the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

at the age of 38 when, being primarily interested in promoting direct trade between Ireland and France where he was living at the time, he visited

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...

in 1919 who appointed him trade representative, then Consul in Paris. The most publicised events of his career during his period in Spain concern his contacts with German agents between 1940 and 1942.

Details

*From 1901 to 1911 he travelled through Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, and Italy. *In 1912 he settled in Paris where he became the chief accountant at '' Lucile'', a fashion house. *From 1914 to 1918 he was manager of ''Lucile''. *From 1919 to 1922 he was Irish commercial representative in Paris. *From 1923 to 1925 he was Irish Republican Envoy in Paris. *From 1932 to 1935 he was Commercial Secretary in Paris. *From 1935 to 1946 he was Minister in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

1937

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

and

Saint-Jean de Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune

Poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

, following a period of treatment in Madrid, was recuperating at when the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

broke out. *He returned to Madrid to offer consular service to the

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

s of

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish military commander, police commissioner and politician. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a prominent figure in ...

's brigade. *In June 1939 he visited

Frank Ryan (Irish republican) Frank Ryan ( ga, Proinsias Ó Riain; 11 September 1902 – 10 June 1944) was an Irish politician, journalist, intelligence agent and paramilitary activist. He first came to prominence as an Irish republican activist at University College Dublin a ...

in Burgos Prison. *On 24 August 1942 he met with

Edmund Veesenmayer Edmund Veesenmayer (12 November 1904 – 24 December 1977) was a high-ranking German SS functionary and Holocaust-perpetrator during the Nazi era. He significantly contributed to the Holocaust in Hungary and in the Independent State of Croati ...

. *In 1941 he visited with

Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was chief of staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the Irish Civil War. Aiken later served as Tánaiste from 1965 to 1969 and Minister fo ...

and

Seán Nunan Seán Nunan (1890–1981) was an Irish diplomat. Details *In 1916 he was member of the Irish Volunteers in the General Post Office, Dublin garrison, fought in the Easter Rising, was interned in Frongoch internment camp and later served pr ...

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...

in Lisbon, where from mid 1942 to 1945 Colman John O'Donovan(1893–1975) was the first

Chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

. *In 1943 he was recalled to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. *He returned to

and after , he offered condolences to , the German chargé d'affaires in Madrid. *In 1947 he led an Irish commercial mission to buy wheat in Buenos Aires.James Patrick Byrne, Philip Coleman, Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History
p. 257
/ref>

References

External links

* http://irelandscw.com/docs-KerneyReview.htm * https://archive.today/20130210001456/http://myfamilyhistory.wikispaces.com/Kerney * http://www.leopoldhkerney.com/ * http://www.historyireland.com/volumes/volume15/issue2/reviews/?id=113944 * https://dib.cambridge.org/viewReadPage.do?articleId=a4524 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerney, Leopold H. 1881 births 1962 deaths Ambassadors of Ireland to France Ambassadors of Ireland to Spain