Cornelius Christopher Cremin (6 December 1908 – 20 April 1987) was an
Irish diplomat who was born in
Kenmare,
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
.
One of four children, Cremin was born to a family that operated a drapery business. His brother,
Francis Cremin
Monsignor Patrick Francis Cremin, (1910 - 2001) STD, JUD was Professor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology and of Canon Law at St Patrick's College, Maynooth between 1939 and 1980.
Biography
Monsignior Cremin was born in Kenmare, County Kerry in 19 ...
, became a leading academic canon lawyer who framed a number of key church documents. He was educated at
St. Brendan's College, Killarney
St Brendan's College, known locally as The Sem, is a secondary school in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland
History
St Brendan's is a Catholic Diocesan College, founded in 1860 by Bishop David Moriarty as a boarding and day-school for boys unde ...
, and from 1926 at
University College Cork, where he graduated with a first-class degree in Classics and Commerce.
Around 1929–30, he was awarded the post-graduate University College Cork Honan scholarship. By 1930, he had attained a degree in economics and accountancy. For the following three years he studied in
Athens,
Munich and
Oxford and had attained a travelling scholarship in classics. He subsequently entered the Department of External Affairs after he had succeeded in the competition for third secretary in 1935.
In April 1935, he married Patricia O'Mahony. His first position in Dublin involved working with F.H. Boland on the
League of Nations portfolio. In 1937, he was sent abroad on his first posting to
Paris, where he worked under the 'tevolutionary diplomat"
Art O'Brien
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of what ...
, until the latter retired in 1938. Sean Murphy later became his minister.
Ireland declared neutrality on the outbreak of the
Second World War, and Murphy and Cremin reported on the developments in France throughout the
Phoney War.
After the
fall of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...
, the Irish legation was the last to leave Paris except for the American ambassador, on 11 June 1940. After travelling to
Ascain, the legation eventually made its way to the new French capital,
Vichy, where it set about looking after the needs of Irish citizens, many of whom had been interned, as they had British passports and had been sending political reports. The political reports were of the highest value and ensured that Ireland continued to observe pro-Allied neutrality throughout the war.
In 1943, Cremin was sent to Berlin to replace William Warnock. Prior to Cremin's arrival, the legation had been bombed. As chargé d'affaires in Berlin, he was responsible for sending back political reports and looking after the interests of Irish citizens. Cremin attempted to assist some European Jews and sent full reports on the Nazi treatment of the Jews in Europe. Warned to leave Berlin before the Soviets arrived, Cremin spent the last weeks of the war near the Swiss border.
In 1945, he was sent to Lisbon, where he met the authoritarian leader
António de Salazar
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...
and attempted to revive Irish trade. He also reported on the various coups attempts gainst Salazar.
After returning to Ireland in 1946, he was involved in preparing Ireland's
Marshall Plan application and tracing the development of Ireland's postwar foreign policy. He had a distinguished career representing Ireland in many foreign missions and at the
United Nations.
Postings
*
Paris 1937–1940
*
Vichy 1940–1943
*
Berlin 1943–1945
*
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
1945–1946
*
Counsellor
Counselor or counsellor may refer to:
A professional In diplomacy and government
* Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability
* Counselor (dipl ...
1946–1949
* Assistant Secretary 1949–1950
*
Paris 1950–1954
*
Vatican 1954–1956
*
London 1956–1958
* Secretary (permanent head of the foreign service) 1958–1963
*
London 1963–1964
*
UN 1964–1974, (Chaired
UN Law of the Sea Conference
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
), (Retired)
In retirement he was a guest lecturer in 1974 at the Law Department of
University College Cork
References
* Dr. Niall Keogh, ''Con Cremin Ireland's Wartime Diplomat'', 2006,
External reference
*
Department of Foreign Affairs website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cremin, Con
Irish civil servants
People from Kenmare
People educated at St Brendan's College, Killarney
Alumni of University College Cork
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
1908 births
1987 deaths
Ambassadors of Ireland to Germany
Ambassadors of Ireland to Portugal
Ambassadors of Ireland to the Holy See
Ambassadors of Ireland to the United Kingdom
Permanent Representatives of Ireland to the United Nations