Sir Osmond Esmonde, 12th Baronet

Sir Osmond Thomas Grattan Esmonde, 12th Baronet (4 April 1896 – 22 July 1936) was an Irish diplomat and Cumann na nGaedheal (and later Fine Gael) politician.

Early life

He was born in Ballynastragh, Gorey, County Wexford in 1896, the eldest son of Sir Thomas Esmonde. He was educated at Mount St Benedict School in Gorey; and the Downside School. He attended Balliol College, Oxford and University College Dublin, though he did not graduate from either. a manoeuvre which resulted in the banning of political uniforms from the Oireachtas.

In November 1935, following the outbreak of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Esmonde proclaimed that he thought Benito Mussolini was the "Abraham Lincoln of Africa", whose mission was to "abolish the slave trade in spite of the sentimental sympathy of Great Britain". the consequent by-election for his seat in Dáil Éireann was held on 17 August, and won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Denis Allen.

Esmonde never married and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his uncle Laurence Esmonde.