Joseph Duffy (born 27 January 1956) is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
broadcaster employed by
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...
(RTÉ). One of RTÉ's highest-earning stars, he is the current presenter of ''
Liveline
''Liveline'' is an Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which is currently presented by Joe Duffy and known for its slogan "Talk to Joe", seeks the ...
'', an interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926.
The total budget for th ...
on Mondays to Fridays between 13:45 and 15:00.
Duffy has a history as a
student activist
Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...
. As President of the
Union of Students in Ireland
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) ( ga, Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn) is the national representative body for third-level students' unions in Ireland. Founded in 1959, USI represents more than 374,000 students in over forty colleges acr ...
(U.S.I.) he was once jailed for an occupation in which he had participated. He describes himself as a
Christian socialist
Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...
who advocates justice "very much based on Christian teaching and principles". Duffy retraced his Christian roots in 2010 by hosting an
RTÉ One
RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
TV show called ''Joe Duffy's Spirit Level'' which discussed the great faith of the Irish people and various religions present in the country, and also queried whether
David McSavage
David Andrews (born 5 February 1966), known professionally as David McSavage, is an Irish stand-up comedian, comedy writer and street performer, known for his television show "The Savage Eye".[triplets
A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bir ...]
, and resides in
Clontarf, Dublin
Clontarf () is a largely affluent coastal suburb on the Northside of Dublin in the city's Dublin 3 postal district. Historically there were two centres of population, one on the coast towards the city, and the fishing village of Clontarf Sheds, ...
. He won a
Jacob's Award
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...
in 1992.
Early life
Duffy was born on 27 January 1956 in
Mountjoy Square
Mountjoy Square () is a Georgian architecture, Georgian garden square in Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of the city just under a kilometre from the River Liffey. One of five Georgian squares in Dublin, it was planned and d ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
.
He was brought up in
Ballyfermot
Ballyfermot () is a suburb town nw of the city aside Dublin, Ireland. It is located, seven kilometres (5 miles) west of the city centre, south of Phoenix Park, it is bordered on the north by Chapelizod, on the south by Bluebell; on the east ...
, one of five siblings. His father was Jimmy and his mother Mabel. Jimmy, who had problems with alcohol, died aged 58 in 1984.
Joe's brother Aidan was killed in a road accident on the Maynooth Road in 1991 aged 25, with Joe first learning of the "horrific accident" on the news on RTÉ Radio.
[ Joe's brother Brendan was described by him as "crippled, ruined and wrecked by a savage addiction" to sniffing glue which he developed as a teenager.][
Duffy attended De La Salle Boys' primary school, St Lorcan's B.N.S and St John's De La Salle College. He enrolled at ]Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
(TCD) in 1977 to study Social Work and was elected President of Trinity College Students' Union in 1979, becoming President of the Union of Students in Ireland
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) ( ga, Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn) is the national representative body for third-level students' unions in Ireland. Founded in 1959, USI represents more than 374,000 students in over forty colleges acr ...
(U.S.I.) four years later.[
In 2008, he appeared on the RTÉ television series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', where his family history in the ]British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
was revealed.
''Liveline''
Duffy claims he thought about resigning from RTÉ in 2007 after the broadcaster forced him to give Justice Minister Michael McDowell a platform on ''Liveline'' to make a "party political broadcast". Duffy considered it "direct party-political interference" in ''Liveline''. However, he went ahead with the broadcast and did not resign or make any protest on air.
In October 2008, he was proactive as a supporter of Irish pensioners who marched on Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...
(home of the Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
) to protest at the proposed means testing of their medical cards in the Government Budget
A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed spending/expenditure (Healthcare, Educa ...
. However, earlier that month, he was reportedly censored by the government when he attempted to continually discuss the effects of the global financial crisis
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
on Ireland. This followed on from the outrage caused when Duffy was held responsible by Finance Minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
, Brian Lenihan, for inciting widespread public fear that Irish citizens were on the verge of losing their savings. Several callers freely spoke of their lack of confidence in the banking system, of how they had withdrawn their money from banks, some of which were identified, and were either carrying it around on their person, or considering keeping it "under the mattress", or burying it in their garden. Lenihan personally rang Cathal Goan
Cathal Séamus Goan (born 5 May 1954) was Director-General of RTÉ from 2003 to 2011. He also played a leading role in the launch of TG4.
Goan was born in Ardoyne, Belfast. He is an Irish language speaker. He studied Celtic studies at Universit ...
, the Director-General of RTÉ
The Director-General is chief executive and editor-in-chief of public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The current director-general is Dee Forbes, who replaced Noel Curran in the role in 2016.
Appointment and role
The RT ...
, on 18 September 2008 (the date of the show) to express his outrage at the sudden increase in potentially disastrous speculation following the show.
The extent of the Finance Minister's concern first publicly emerged the following morning when he was interviewed by RTÉ's economics editor George Lee. In that interview, Lenihan insisted that deposits were not in any danger and said that people should not be going to banks to shift their deposit accounts "on the basis of unfounded allegations made on radio programmes".
Rival broadcaster TV3 accused Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...
(RTÉ) and Joe Duffy of waging a "dirty tricks" war against them after a late-night game show run by TV3 was berated by callers to ''Liveline'' and saying several times on air that he had been unable to get a representative from the station to reply to callers' concerns. TV3 said a lengthy statement was sent to the ''Liveline'' office almost two hours before the September 2009 show went on air but was ignored, despite the fact that it clarified some of the issues. The ''Play TV'' service was discontinued by TV3 in March 2010 after 29 complaints to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann).
The BAI is ...
(BAI), though TV3 said it was because of a decline in viewership.
Journalist Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers (born 30 March 1947) is an English-born Irish journalist and writer. He has contributed to the ''Irish Independent'', the Irish edition of ''The Sunday Times'', and ''The Irish Times''s column "An Irishman's Diary".
Myers is kn ...
wrote in October 2009, "Throw in some mob-oratory from the national broadcaster's disgraceful 'Liveline', and almost no state institution and no politician is safe from the vengeful, idiot wrath of Madame La Guillotine, or Les Heureuses Tricoteuses."
Duffy is famous for taking up the causes of the disadvantaged on ''Liveline'', and examples of this include Berry Fleming who lost her job in 2010, and Aubrey McCarthy, who was trying desperately to get his removal business off the ground in 2012/2013
In 2018/19, Duffy played (in pre-recorded sequences) the Magic Mirror in the Cheerios Panto, Snow White
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
, making use of some of the Liveline catchphrases, such as "Talk to Joe".
Earnings
Duffy earned €408,889 in 2008. RTÉ's Director General said there was "no question that by today's standards" the salaries paid to its top presenters last year "were excessive. I have to repeat that they were set at a different time in a different competitive reality where some of this talent might be up for poaching by other organisations and in RTÉ's view at the time, they delivered value for money".
Listeners, who contacted RTÉ Radio 1's '' Drivetime'' programme were swift to condemn the salary level, saying it was ironic that programmes like ''Liveline'' – presented by Joe Duffy – were used as a platform for criticising the pay and expenses of Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
members.
Duffy defended his own high wages and those of his fellow RTÉ presenters while appearing on TV3's ''Midweek'' in October 2011, claiming they were agreed “fair and square”. The following month, his 2009 earnings were revealed by RTÉ to have been €389,314. He defended this by saying he considered himself and his ''Liveline'' show "good value" for RTÉ.
In March 2013, it was revealed he had earned €378,000 in 2011, which increased to €392,494 in 2019.
Lampooning of Duffy on ''The Savage Eye''
Duffy is frequently lampooned at length on the satirical TV programme ''The Savage Eye''. It portrays him as a fetish garment clad sado-masochist who derives perverse pleasure by urging his call-in radio listeners in a strong working class Dublin accent, to express excesses of degradation and misery as he "empathizes" verbally and plays with his nipple clamps. Duffy has since questioned viewership figures for ''The Savage Eye'' on his daily radio show and had questioned whether it is "blasphemous" on his Sunday afternoon religious affairs TV show ''Spirit Level''.
Personal life
Joe Duffy is married and is the father of triplets.[ He currently resides on ]Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
's Northside
Northside or North Side may refer to:
Music
* Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, England
* NorthSide, an American record label
* NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark
* "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vinc ...
.[
His autobiography ''Just Joe'' was launched by ]Gay Byrne
Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne (5 August 1934 – 4 November 2019) was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was first host of '' The Late Late Show'' over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999. ''The Late Lat ...
in Harry's Bar in October 2011.
In 2014, Duffy made a cameo in '' Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie'' as himself. The film was negatively received but was a moderate box office success. In "Here Comes The Hotstepper (Remix)", the voice of Duffy can be heard in the song's intro.
In August 2022, Joe described on his radio programme his terrifying recent encounter with a weever
Weevers (or weeverfish) are nine extant taxon, extant species of fishes of Family (biology), family Trachinidae, order Trachiniformes, part of the Percomorpha clade. They are long (up to 37 cm), mainly brown in color, and have venomous s ...
on a Dublin beach, leading to 'excruciating pain' which necessitates him wearing swim boots at all times.
Awards
In 1992, Duffy won a Jacob's Award
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...
for his reports on RTÉ Radio 1's ''The Gay Byrne Show
''The Gay Byrne Show'' (previously ''The Gay Byrne Hour'' and also known as ''The GB Show'') was an Irish radio programme, which ran from 1973 until 1998. The programme was presented by Gay Byrne, and aired Monday to Friday for two hours each d ...
''.[
Duffy was named 11th most influential person of 2009 by '']Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
''.
References
External links
*
''Liveline''
at RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926.
The total budget for th ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Joe
1956 births
20th-century Irish people
21st-century Irish people
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Jacob's Award winners
Living people
People from Ballyfermot
RTÉ Radio 1 presenters
RTÉ television presenters