He was born on 21 February 1882, the son of William John Kenny (1849-1901) and Angela Gertrude Sheridan (1852-1937).
He studied law at Trinity College Dublin[1] and the King's Inns and was called to the Bar in 1911.
During the First World War he was granted a commission[2] in the Royal Engineers and served in Gallipoli and Salonika and was mentioned 3 times in dispatches.
In 1933 he moved to Leeds as Postmaster Surveyor, and was made North Western Regional Director in 1938.
Traditional mail was carried by ship through the Mediterranean by the Royal Navy but opportunities to do this were limited and there was a long transit time which resulted in complaints.