John Dulanty (diplomat)

John Whelan Dulanty (1883-1955) represented Ireland in London for 20 years, first as High Commissioner and then as Ireland's first ambassador to the United Kingdom.^[1]

He was born in Manchester 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 Manchester University where he read law.^[2] In 1906 he supported Winston Churchill's campaign as a Liberal to win the North-West Manchester seat. This connection with Churchill was to prove important in Dulanty's later diplomatic career as High Commissioner in London.^[3]

In 1913 he entered the British civil service. He worked in the Ministry of Munitions during World War 1. He later served as Assistant Secretary to the Treasury. In 1920 he left the British civil service because of his opposition to British policy on Ireland.^[4] By the time he left he had been awarded C.B. and C.B.E.^[5]

For the next 6 years he served as deputy chairman and managing director of Peter Jones, Ltd.^[6]

In 1926 he joined the Irish civil service 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 of Great Britain under John Redmond and had been busy behind the scenes at the time of the treaty of 1922". In 1930 he became High Commissioner in London. On Ireland leaving the Commonwealth and becoming a republic, he became Ireland's first ambassador in London in 1950. He retired in September 1950.^[7]

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