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 the ...

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

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 obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

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 (; 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 produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Trea ...

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 List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

1937

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

and

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

. *In May 1936 he was diagnosed with

Poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

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

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

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

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

s of

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier, police commissioner, politician and fascist. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a promin ...

's brigade. *In June 1939 he visited

Frank Ryan (Irish republican) Frank Ryan (; 11 September 1902 – 10 June 1944) was an Irish politician, journalist and soldier. He first came to prominence as an Irish republican activist at University College Dublin and fought for the Irish Republican Army during the Iri ...

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 Croat ...

. *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 Irish Republican Army, chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the I ...

and

Seán Nunan Seán Nunan (1890–1981) was an Ireland, 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 ...

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...

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

Chargé d'affaires A (), 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. The term is Frenc ...

. *In 1943 he was recalled to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. *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
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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