Richard Pope-Hennessy

Richard Pope-Hennessy in 1927

Maj-Gen. Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy (1875-1 March 1942), was a British Liberal Party politician and soldier of Irish Catholic descent.

Background

A young Richard, pictured with his parents

He was the eldest son of Sir John Pope-Hennessy MP, of Rostellan Castle, County Cork and Catherine Elizabeth Low. He was educated at Beaumont College. He married, in 1910, Una Birch a writer, historian and biographer. They had two sons,^[1] James who became a writer and John an art historian.

Military career

He was Commander of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division and area from 1931-35. He served as a staff officer at the War Office and was Military Inter-Allied Commissioner of Control in Berlin. Subsequently he was for three years Military Attaché at Washington.^[2]

Political career

He took particular interest in military matters and in issues affecting his native Ireland. In 1919 he had published 'The Irish Dominion: a Method of Approach to a Settlement'.^[3] He was Liberal candidate for the Tonbridge Division of Kent at the 1935 General Election. Tonbridge was a safe Conservative seat that they had won at every election since it was created in 1918. The Liberal Party had not fielded a candidate at the previous General election and he was not expected to win and finished a poor third.

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