Sir Patrick Hennessy (18 April 1898 – 13 March 1981) was an

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 ...

-born British industrialist, originally from

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

. During the

First World War 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 served in the British Army, between 1914 and 1918, with the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

. He started his career in 1920 with Henry Ford & Son in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. He relocated to England, by now a separate country, in 1931 when he was appointed Purchasing Manager with

Ford of Britain Ford of Britain (officially Ford Motor Company Limited)The Ford 'companies' or corporate entities referred to in this article are: * Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, incorporated 16 June 1903 * Ford Motor Company Limited, incorporat ...

. He was progressively promoted, appointed General Manager in 1939, Managing Director in 1948 and Chairman in 1956. Hennessy combined the role of chairman with that of Chief Executive until 1963, retiring from the chairmanship at the age of 70 on 3 May 1968. His successor at Ford of Britain chairman was

Leonard Crossland Sir Leonard Crossland (2 March 1914 – 5 August 1999) was an English automobile executive who filled a succession of increasingly high level appointments with Ford of Britain, culminating with the chairmanship which he held between 1968 and ...

Personal life

In 1923 he married Dorothy Margaret Davis of Boardmills,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. The couple had two sons and one daughter. Patrick Hennessy was knighted in 1941. He died in

West Essex West Essex is the far northwestern region of Essex County, New Jersey, United States, bordering Passaic County and Morris County. It is considered to be one of the more affluent parts of the county, as opposed to the eastern Essex cities such ...

early in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Patrick 1898 births 1981 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Businesspeople from County Cork Knights Bachelor Place of death missing Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers soldiers