Joseph Duffy (born 3 February 1934) was the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Bishop of Clogher The Bishop of Clogher is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and the ot ...

in Ireland, a position he held from 1979 until his retirement on 6 May 2010. He resides in Monaghan Town,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

, Ireland.

Early life and priestly ministry

Duffy was the eldest of three boys and one girl born to Edward Duffy and Brigid MacEntee of Annagose, Newbliss, County Monaghan. Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, 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 St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

, and was ordained priest for the Diocese of Clogher on 22 June 1958. After his ordination he continued his studies in

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and completed a thesis on the dialect of south

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for a master's degree in the National University of Ireland (the NUI) 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 pursuing summer courses in French. 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 A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

, 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

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(the UAHS.)

Bishop of Clogher

On 7 July 1979, Duffy was named Bishop-elect of Clogher, the first

bishop to be appointed by

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. He was ordained a bishop in St. Macartan's Cathedral, Monaghan Town, on 2 September of the same year. The

Principal Consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

was

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and Archbishop of Armagh. Gaetano Alibrandi,

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Binda, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, and Patrick Mulligan, the Bishop Emeritus of Clogher, acted as the Principal Co–Consecrators. For some years during the 1990s he served as media spokesman for the Irish Bishops Conference. He was also Chairman of the Commission for Communications of the Irish Bishops' Conference and the representative of the Irish Bishops on the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union ( OMECE. His

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

counterpart during the latter years of his episcopal term was Bishop

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. Each Christmas from 2002 on Duffy and Jackson delivered a joint Christmas message

Both bishops were also present at a service in honour of Saint Macartan, Patron Saint of Clogher 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. On 28 January 2008 Duffy became the longest-serving ordinary in Ireland, having once been the youngest Irish bishop at the time of his episcopal ordination. In accordance with

Canon Law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

he offered his resignation to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

on his seventy-fifth birthday, on 3 February 2009.Bishop Duffy submits his resignation to the Holy See
/ref> His resignation was accepted by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

on 6 May 2010, when it was announced that

Liam MacDaid Liam Seán MacDaid (born 19 July 1945) is the former Catholic Bishop of Clogher. He previously served as chancellor of the diocese. He officially resigned on 1 October 2016 due to ill health. Early life and priestly ministry MacDaid was born ...

would be his successor. MacDaid received episcopal ordination from Dr. Duffy in late July 2010.

Selected works

* ''Patrick in His Own Words.'' Dublin: Veritas (2000) * ''On Lough Derg'' Dublin: Veritas (1988) * ''Lough Derg Guide.'' Veritas (1980)

References

External links

* *
Irish bishops back Nice treaty
– BBC News article dated Tuesday, 8 October 2002, quoting Duffy's views on the

Treaty of Nice The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It amended the Maastricht Treaty (or the Treaty on European Union) and the Treaty of Rome (or the Treaty establishing the European C ...

Clogher Diocese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Joseph 1934 births Living people People educated at St Macartan's College, Monaghan Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Roman Catholic bishops of Clogher People from County Monaghan 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Translators of the Bible into Irish 20th-century translators 21st-century translators