Sir John Pope-Hennessy, KCMG (Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George) (1880), was born in 1834, in Cork, Ireland. He studied medicine at Queen's College, Cork, and in May 1855, went to London to continue his studies at Charing Cross Hospital. He soon turned his attention to politics and obtained a clerkship in the Privy Council Office, at the same time reading for the Bar. In 1859, two years before his call to the Bar, he entered Parliament as Member for King's County in the unique role of being an Irish Catholic and Nationalist who was also a Conservative. He lost his seat in the election of 1865.

Pope-Hennessy was a protégé of Disraeli, and it was through the latter's influence that he was appointed Governor of Labuan in 1867. In the following year, Pope-Hennessy married Kitty Low, daughter of Hugh Low, who was Acting Governor of Labuan when Pope-Hennessy arrived. Pope-Hennessy spent 22 years in the Colonial Service, during which time he was Governor not only in Labuan (1867-1871) but also in West Africa (1872-1873), the Bahamas (1873-1874), Barbados (1875-1876), Hong Kong (1877-1882), and Mauritius (1883-1889). On retiring from the Colonial Service, he moved to Rostellan Castle, the estate he had bought near Cork. After retirement, Pope-Hennessy stood for Parliament again and, after a violent contest, won the seat of North Kilkenny; however, his health had suffered greatly, and he died at Rostellan on 7 Oct 1891.