Tony (A.P) Kearns

[na grohmiti]

I learnt today of the passing of one of our own.
A sad loss to the Irish aviation community, and those of us who frequent sites like this one. He was an active member here, guaranteed to provide an accurate aviation answer when requested. A great photographer of aircraft and a great friend to the Air Corps for the last 50 plus years. As long as I have been discussing military matters, Tony was there, either with a useful fact or exceptionally clear photo. Happy to share with anyone who was interested.

KEARNS, Anthony (Tony / A.P. Kearns) – January 10th, 2021 (Baldoyle, Dublin) (aviation historian) peacefully, at home surrounded by his loving family. Beloved husband of Moira, and devoted father to Fergal and Aisling; he will be very sadly missed by his wife, children, grandchildren Hannah, Daniel, Shane, Brion & Cameron, daughter-in-law Sandy, son-in-law Joff, brother Joe, sister-in-law Nuala, nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and neighbours.

Rest in Peace



A private funeral will take place for immediate family only due to Government advice and HSE guidelines regarding public gatherings. Those who would liked to have attended the Funeral, please feel free to leave a message in the Condolence Book at the bottom of the page. Family flowers only please, donations if desired to St. Francis Hospice. The funeral can be viewed online on Wednesday, 13th January, at 11am at stmaryshaddingtonroad.ie The Service at the crematorium can also be viewed at approximately 1pm on the same day at https://www.mountjerome.ie/?content=...ng-of-services

Tony Kearns is offline.

[DeV]

RIP

[Flamingo]

How sad. RIP. He’ll be missed.

[spider]

That's very sad news.

Condolences to Tony's family and friends.

[GoneToTheCanner]

I only just heard from a family member and posted it in thew AC page. RIP.

[trellheim]

RIP to an IMO Comrade

[ias]

RIP

[sofa]

Very sad news. A big lost to Irish aviation.

[CTU]

R.I.P.

[hptmurphy]

Rest In Peace

I had know Tony for many years through aviation related interests.

Best quote I read about him is that he was more Aer Corps than the Aer Corps

[Truck Driver]

May he rest in peace

[Auldsod]

Rest in Peace.

May I ask what Tony's handle on here was?

[na grohmiti]

Rest in Peace.

May I ask what Tony's handle on here was?

Oddly enough, Tony Kearns.

[GoneToTheCanner]

Just his own name. An encyclopedia about the historical Air Corps, he could be very short with anyone who got the facts wrong or tried touting inadequate or incorrect facts about things like dates of entry or withdrawal of aircraft, serial numbers, registration letters and numbers and so on. He knew a lot of the players personally and had a level of access that others envied, but failed to realise that he had earned such access by virtue of hard graft, doing old school research and wearing out a lot of shoe leather and spent a lot of time on reading old papers and talking to the wartime veterans. Many of them were to become lifelong friends and he probably knew more RAF and Luftwaffe veterans (connected to Ireland) than anyone in Ireland. He contributed to hundreds of publications in his lifetime. He wasn't an "anorak" of the reggie spotter type; he genuinely knew the histories of the aircraft and their service and tended to take photos for the historical record and not just for box-ticking. I hope his archive is saved.

[meridian]

Rest In Peace Tony

[Herald]

RIP Tony Kearns. All of your posts absolutely reeked of aviation knowledge.