Joseph Duffy

Infobox bishopbiog


name = Most Reverend Dr. Joseph Duffy
religion = Roman Catholic Church
See = Clogher
Title = Bishop of Clogher
Period = 2 September 1979 —
Predecessor = Patrick Mulligan
Successor = | post = Enniskillen | post = Curate, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh | date of birth = 3 February 1934
place of birth = Dublin, Ireland |

Most Reverend Dr. Joseph Duffy (born 3 February 1934) is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher in Ireland, a position he has held since 1979. He resides in Monaghan Town, County Monaghan, Ireland.

Biography of Joseph Duffy

Joseph Duffy was the eldest of three boys and one girl born to Edward Duffy and Brigid MacEntee of Annagose, Newbliss, County Monaghan. He was educated at St. Louis' Infant School, Clones, County Monaghan and at St. Macartan’s College, Monaghan, where he was a boarder for five years.

He studied for the priesthood at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, and was ordained priest for the Diocese of Clogher on 22 June 1958. After his ordination to the priesthood he continued his studies in Irish and completed a thesis on the dialect of South Tipperary for a Master’s degree in the National University of Ireland in 1960.

He returned to St. Macartan’s College, where he taught Irish and French for twelve years. During these years he spent several sessions in French universities doing summer courses in French. He also worked at the pilgrimage shrine of Lough Derg in County Donegal and translated two books of the Old Testament, Amos and Ezekiel, for "An Bíobla Gaeilge".

From 1972 to 1979 he was a curate in the parish of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. This was a team ministry with three other curates and the parish priest, and included a chaplaincy to St. Fanchea’s College for Girls, and a part-time chaplaincy at the Erne Hospital. During these years he was involved in PACE (Protestant and Catholic Encounter) and served on the committee of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society.

On 7 July 1979, Fr. Duffy was named bishop-elect of Clogher, at the age of 45, becoming the first Irish bishop to be appointed by Pope John Paul II. He was ordained a bishop in St. Macartan's Cathedral, Monaghan on 2 September of the same year. [ [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bduffyjo.html Ordination of Joseph Duffy] ] The Principal Principal Consecrator was the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich [ [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bofiaich.html Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich] ] ; the papal nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Gaetano Alibrandi [ [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/balib.html Archbishop Gaetano Alibrandi] ] and his predecessor, Bishop Patrick Mulligan [ [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmulligan.html Bishop Patrick Mulligan] ] acted as the Principal Co-consecrators. The youngest Irish bishop at the time of his ordination, on January 28, 2008, Dr. Duffy became the longest serving ordinary in Ireland. As is the custom, he will offer his resignation to the Holy See on or before his seventy-fifth birthday on February 3, 2009, the year he will celebrate his thirtieth anniversary of ordination to the bishopric.

His years as Bishop of Clogher

During the 1980s Bishop Duffy was Chairman of the Liturgy Commission of the Irish Bishops Conference. During this time he also undertook the re-ordering of the gothic St Macartan's Cathedral in Monaghan. This work has won much praise and comment from numerous commentators. A former teacher, Bishop Duffy is also a well known educationalist and has participated in a number of Church Commissions on Educational matters, particularly in Northern Ireland, which covers a large part of his Diocese. For some years during the 1990s he served as media spokesman for the Irish Bishops Conference. He is currently Chairman of the Commission for Communications of the Irish Bishops' Conference and is also the representative of the Irish Bishops on the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union ( [COMECE] ). In addition to his formal duties as Bishop, Duffy has served as Chairman of the Clogher Historical Society and was a former editor of its Journal- "Clogher Record". He is a noted historian and celtic scholar.

His Church of Ireland counterpart is Michael Jackson. In 2002, Duffy and Jackson delivered a joint Christmas message [http://ireland.anglican.org/archives/pressreleases/prarchive2002/clogchr.html] . Both Duffy and Jackson were also present at a service in honour of Saint Macartan, Patron Saint of Clogher. The service took place at St. Macartan's College, the Catholic Diocesan Seminary in Monaghan. It marked the celebration of fifteen hundred years of Christian witness in Clogher diocese.

References

External links

* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bduffyjo.html Bishop Joseph Duffy] - a Catholic-Hierarchy page giving information such as Duffy's age in years to two decimal places
* " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2311025.stm Irish bishops back Nice treaty] " - BBC News article dated Tuesday, October 8, 2002, quoting Duffy's views on the Treaty of Nice
* http://www.clogherdiocese.ie