By Brett Free
If ever a man was in his element – in his “zone” – it was Kerry McGlynn at the Main Bar of the FCC during the Friday Night Swill.
This is not what defined “Maestro McGlynn” as a person – far from it. But this is where Kerry brought to bear, on a regular basis, all the elements that made him such a “Master of the Dark Arts” where government PR, off-record chats, and background briefings “between us girls” met the hard-nosed, cynical coalface of Hong Kong’s local and international press corps.
Kerry often quipped that he worked for the Ministry of Truth. This always elicited loud guffaws, as well as a nod and a wink from those who got the joke. This was Kerry’s clever way of disarming those he met – a self-deprecating nod to the fine line that ex-hacks like himself had to walk to fulfil the role of a “government spokesman” while engaging the media in a meaningful way.
And it worked. After all, someone who took the mickey out of himself wasn’t your bog-standard government spinmeister – he was more like “one of us”, an ex-journo who understood the media and knew he had to earn their trust and respect. And that he did in large measure.
Kerry’s Friday night forays epitomised his reputation as a bloke that everyone seemed to know or wanted to meet and was genuinely happy to see.
Within seconds of entering the Club, Kerry was talking to someone. Sometimes in the foyer, or on the steps leading to the bar. The Snug was a fertile ground for engagement – though for just a “quiet” word or two. In the Main Bar – left, right and centre – Kerry had spotted someone, or someone had spotted Kerry, and there ensued a quick chat, a bit of banter, a “call me” or “talk to you later” and plenty of laughs. Everyone loved Kerry’s laugh, it was contagious.
For those waiting for him at the bar, Kerry’s arrival was always noticed but the big question was: When would he finally arrive? It was often 15 or 20 minutes before “K”, “K-ster” or “Kerrance” as he was known to different friends, had run the gauntlet of correspondents, contacts, confidantes and acquaintances before plonking down his card, opening a tab, and starting a session with a cleansing Prosecco before settling down to his regular Pinot Grigio (Members pour). And then, holding court for the rest of the night.
Front desk staff always greeted “Mr McGlynn” with a smile and a warm welcome, as did staff all over the Club and his regular haunts such as the Hong Kong Cricket Club. Kerry didn’t just say hello – he knew most staff by name, asked how they were, what they were doing, and how their families were going.
This genuine warmth and interest in people was a trait that endeared Kerry to all he met – from the small potatoes to the “grown ups” he advised in government and, later, business circles.
His silky-smooth voice would put people at ease, whether a young colleague needing calm reassurance, or a loh baan or taipan seeking advice on a thorny communications conundrum.
To those who worked with him, Kerry was indeed the “guru”, the Prince of PR, the King of Cool and the Sultan of Suave to boot. He was approachable, inquisitive, widely read, and possessed a razor-sharp news sense. He was humble, kind, empathetic, accommodating and fair – he looked out for the little guys and gals – but also a tough task master when it came to the standards required to perform at a high level in the PR world. Rarely critical or negative, Kerry led by example, set the bar high and then did what he could to lift his team.
He always provided honest, unvarnished advice, even if those he was briefing didn’t want to hear it. When Kerry spoke, people listened – not because they had to, but because they wanted to hear what he had to say.
Kerry’s work ethic, sense of a“fair go” and strong desire to chart his own course were shaped by his upbringing in a large, working-class Irish Catholic family in Sydney’s tough inner west. He dropped out of school aged 15 and eventually scored a job as a copy boy on the Daily Mirror. He landed a prized cadetship on his 17th birthday in 1958.
Kerry cut his teeth in the highly competitive Sydney media scene at a time when journos worked hard and played even harder. In his heart, he was always a newspaper man.
In 1963, aged just 22, he upped stumps and headed to the U.K. to work on Fleet Street for Australian Consolidated Press. It was in the U.K. that he met the love of his life, Jenny. Realising that she was “the one”, they married in Bournemouth in 1965. They returned to Sydney in 1968, where Kerry worked for Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph.
He joined the Government Information Services (GIS) as a direct recruit Senior Information Officer in 1974. After just six years, he was posted to the London Office in 1980 for a two-and-a-half-year stint to help raise Hong Kong’s profile ahead of the Handover negotiations. This was the prime overseas posting in those days because of the link it played between Whitehall and the Hong Kong Government.
At the end of 1982 Kerry returned to Hong Kong to work in the-then Public Relations Division responsible for monitoring local and international news coverage on Hong Kong and providing a pithy summary of key issues and coverage to government leaders at “morning prayers” every day at 8:00 am.
Within a decade of starting at GIS, Kerry was promoted to Assistant Director in February 1984 – a stellar rise considering the norm in those days was at least five years in each rank of Senior, Principal and Chief Information Officer before being considered for testing as a Directorate Officer. As ever, Kerry was ahead of the game.
Kerry defied the norms again in 1987 when appointed head of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York (NYETO). These overseas postings were and still are jealously guarded by the Administrative Officer (AO) grade, so Kerry’s highly unusual posting did not go unnoticed. He seized the opportunity and challenge to represent the “New York of the East” in the Big Apple itself. His proactive approach and engagement of media, political and business contacts in New York and beyond – coupled with his natural charm and love of Hong Kong – was a benchmark for such postings.
The last Governor’s arrival in July 1992 heralded a seismic shift in the way the UK chose to handle the transition to 1997 – and opened the door for Kerry to assume a role that would coalesce all he had learned in 37 years of journalism and government PR.
Kerry’s appointment as Chris Patten’s Press Secretary in 1993 gave full play to his potential and knowledge as a trusted and vital member of the Governor’s “inner circle” of political aides and advisers, the likes of which Hong Kong had never seen. Kerry was in his element and thrived – not without its stresses and strains. But this is where he was always meant to be and wanted to be, in the thick of the action.
Patten’s modus operandi as a seasoned politician ensured that Kerry, his main connection to the media, was in the loop on all matters big and small. This trust and access enabled Kerry to speak with authority to local and foreign press – and contribute strategically in meetings with the government’s top echelon. Kerry remained close friends with Patten and wife Lavender after 1997, and rumour has it that Patten even adopted Kerry’s signature fashion quirk of wearing non-matching socks.
After Patten’s departure, Kerry returned to the Information Services Department as DDO – Deputy Director (Overseas) – responsible for Hong Kong’s international media, promotion, marketing and engagement with international stakeholders such as chambers of commerce, the HKTDC and the HKTB.
It is a mark of his foresight that while still at Government House – with all that was going on in the run up to 1 July, 1997 – Kerry turned his mind to how Hong Kong might be positioned and promoted after the reversion of sovereignty. This was the genesis of BrandHK, but the Asian financial crisis in 1998 put it on the back burner for a few years. “Asia’s World City” was eventually launched with considerable fanfare in May 2001.
Kerry also commissioned workshops at the HKCEC for hundreds of senior officials to help them understand the thinking behind BrandHK, and reinforce the notion that everyone had a role to play in Hong Kong’s positioning as Asia’s World City. Again, another first.
Post-97 Kerry’s talent and skills as a storyteller and speech writer were put to good use by Anson Chan and Donald Tsang, the two most senior officials embodying the continuity and stability that Hong Kong needed on the international stage at the time. As the key transition leaders for the HKSAR, both Anson and Donald knew well how Kerry operated, and sought his input and counsel.
“Kerry has done sterling service to Hong Kong during his time with ISD and afterwards,” former Chief Executive Donald Tsang told The Correspondent, the FCC magazine. “I always treasured his wise counsel and will never forget his unwavering support when we travelled overseas together to promote and fend for Hong Kong.”
Kerry retired from ISD in January 2002, returning to Sydney with wife Jenny to reunite with his daughters Kate and Lucy and their families. Sadly, Jenny was bravely battling cancer at the time and passed away in October 2004 – leaving a massive hole in the lives and hearts of Kerry and his daughters.
Kerry wholeheartedly supported Jenny’s work to establish the Life Education Activity Programme (LEAP) in Hong Kong, which since its launch in 1994 has provided healthy living education to more than two million school children. In honour of his wife, and to continue contributing to Hong Kong, Kerry continued serving on the LEAP board and was even sending out fundraising appeals the day before he died.
After Jenny’s passing, Kerry returned to Hong Kong to provide strategic communications advice to the government in the run up to and staging of the World Trade Organization’s Ministerial Conference in December 2005.
He was then snapped up by Cathay Pacific as a special adviser to the CEO, after which he became a special adviser to the CEO of Swire Properties. CLP also made good use of his PR talent and writing skills. It was during this time that he courted the second love of his life, “LV”, whose infectious laugh and caring nature endeared her to all of K’s friends.
Kerry drew a line under his time in Hong Kong in October 2016 – 42 years after first setting foot in the city. Back in Sydney, he spent plenty of time with his family, grandchildren and friends, and set up home in the inner-west suburb of Balmain. He remained remarkably well informed on Hong Kong affairs.
Kerry was not without some health challenges, but he did not share this news widely. He just preferred to “get on with it”. He battled and beat lung cancer, losing a third of a lung in the process. This impaired his lung function, which was a contributing factor in his diagnosis a few years ago with incurable pulmonary hypertension.
Kerry bravely fought this scourge for as long as he could but succumbed on 11 September, 2025 with his daughters and LV by his side. True to form as an ex-hack with a penchant for explaining the who, what, where, when and why, Kerry prepared his own death notice to be posted on Facebook. He chose a photo which is quintessential Kerry – quietly confident, impeccably dressed and with just a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. This announcement came as a huge shock to most of his friends who had no idea that he had been so ill.
“Not the way I intended to go but, as they say, life’s a bitch and then you die. I love you all.”
We love you too, mate.
Brett Free retired as ISD Deputy Director in early 2022. Kerry McGlynn chaired the selection panel that hired him in 1993.
