Tom Duffy, who has died aged 92, was born into circus life. In fact, he was born in his mother’s caravan in Limavady, Co Derry, while the eponymous family circus was performing there.
He was one of seven brothers and one sister. He started performing in the circus ring at the age of five as a clown. “That’s how we all start as it gets you used to the audience and if you make mistakes, the character is a cover,” according to his son David, the ringmaster of Tom Duffy’s Circus.
As Tom got older, he started to perform a double trapeze act with his brother, Arthur. At the time, he was known as the boy with the iron jaw because he was able to hold Arthur from a leather strap held between his teeth while suspended upside down from the trapeze 40 feet above the audience.
Later, he became an expert horse rider, jumping on and off the horses and performing somersaults. Those early days of life in the circus were tough as families moved from venue to venue in horse-drawn caravans with no electricity.
Following the death of his mother, Lena, and father, James, Tom ran Duffy’s Circus with his six brothers, travelling the length and breadth of Ireland in the summer months. He loved working with the circus animals, particularly horses and trained his son and later his grandsons how to ride and do tricks on horses.
The origins of Duffy’s circus go back to 1775 when it was was established by Patrick James Duffy, a shoe maker from Dublin turned acrobat. His offspring followed him into the business which has existed on one form or another ever since, despite several splits.
In 1979, Tom decided to put his own show on the road with his wife, Gertie, and their son, David. And, on his 50th birthday, Tom Duffy’s Circus gave its first performance in Blessington, Co Wicklow.
As ringmaster for almost 15 years, Duffy witnessed many changes to performances and audiences in that time. The new heavy duty PVC vinyl tents replaced leaky canvas tents (which were a nightmare to dry), individual seating replaced hard damp boards and sound and lighting improved greatly. And, as the tents could now be heated, the season was extended from mid-January to the end of October.
The circus was his life and when Duffy was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1990 and was given six to 12 months to live, he told his surgeon that he was “too busy to die”. Fifteen years later, he had a kidney removed because of cancer and five days later he was back in his role as ringmaster. In the early 1990s he stepped back from centre stage – handing over the duty of ringmaster to David.
Although his health declined from that time onwards, he continued to go to shows and sat in his director’s chair at the front of the Big Top. From this vantage point, he kept a close eye on performances and was never slow to give his sometimes critical comments. Members of the audience would come up to him at the end of each show to reminisce and have their photograph taken with him.
In 2018, Duffy moved to live in a care home as his condition worsened to the extent that he required 24-hour care. Since moving there, he suffered numerous heart attacks and contracted and recovered from Covid twice. Sharp-minded and humorous until the end, he had a good relationship with the staff who cared for him, regaling them with stories from his unconventional and adventurous life.
Tom Duffy’s Circus continued to tour its big top in the week of Tom’s death. In a statement, the family said, “As Tom often said, ‘The show must go on’.” David Duffy said that they cancelled the show on the day of his funeral, wondering if his father would forgive him for doing so.
“My dad was a legend. He dedicated his whole life to entertaining the Irish public. To his family, he will always be the greatest showman.”
Tom Duffy is survived by David, his daughter-in-law, Stephanie, grandsons, Tom and Jamie, and his brother, Freddy. His wife Gertie pre-deceased him in 2012.