Patrick Aloysius Duffy (19 July 1933 – 19 August 1995), known as Paddy Duffy, was an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Born in

Stewartstown, County Tyrone Stewartstown is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, close to Lough Neagh and about from Cookstown, from Coalisland and from Dungannon. Established by Scottish Planters early in the 17th century, its population peaked before the ...

, Duffy studied at

St Patrick's Academy, Dungannon Saint Patrick's Academy ( Irish: ''Acadamh Naomh Pádraig'') is a voluntary grammar school located in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It formed on 1 September 2003 when the two single-sex Saint Patrick's Academies, which coexisted ...

and then

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

before becoming a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

.Ted Nealon, ''Ireland: a Parliamentary Directory 1973-1974'', p.207 He became politically active in the Nationalist Party,Fionnuala O'Connor, ''In search of a state: Catholics in Northern Ireland'', pp.154, 203 then in the

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

movement, acting as

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

for Frank McManus, the successful candidate in Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the 1970 general election. After the election, Duffy was a key founder member of the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP), and served as its first treasurer. He was elected to

Cookstown District Council Cookstown District Council ( ga, Comhairle Cheantar na Coirre Críochaí; Ulster Scots: ''Districk Cooncil o Cookestoun'') was a district council covering an area largely in County Tyrone and partly in County Londonderry. It merged with Dungann ...

at the

1973 Northern Ireland local elections Local government in Northern Ireland was reorganised in 1973 by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 and the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. The county councils, county borough and municipal borough corpora ...

, and then at the

1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. P ...

he won a seat in Mid Ulster, which he successfully defended on the

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland. For ...

in 1975. He also retained his council seat in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. However, he proved less successful on the national stage, taking second place in Mid Ulster at the 1979 general election. In the late 1970s, Duffy became known for his outspoken support of

Northern Irish independence Ulster nationalism is a minor school of thought in the politics of Northern Ireland that seeks the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom without joining the Republic of Ireland, thereby becoming an independent sovereign s ...

, although he did concede that there would need to be some form of federal structure covering the entire island. He objected to the arrangements for the

1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly elections were held on 20 October 1982 in an attempt to re-establish devolution and power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Although the Northern Ireland Assembly officially lasted until 1986 (and was seen as being ...

, refused to stand, and unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the SDLP to boycott the election, and called for its assembly members to withdraw after

Seamus Mallon Seamus Frederick Mallon (; 17 August 1936 – 24 January 2020) was an Irish politician who served as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2001 and Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 1979 to 2 ...

was disqualified. Following this, he withdrew from involvement in the SDLP, although he was re-elected as a nominal party member to Cookstown District Council in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. Outside politics, Duffy built up a large legal practice, with offices in small towns across Northern Ireland. He was also active in the

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

and

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

movements. At the time of his death in 1996, he was a member of the board of the

International Fund for Ireland The International Fund for Ireland is an independent international organisation established in 1986 by the British and Irish governments with the objectives of promoting "economic and social advance and to encourage contact, dialogue and reconcilia ...

.''The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America'' (1996), p.486 He died on 19 August 1995, and was survived by his wife Mary and their three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Paddy 1933 births 1995 deaths CATEGORY: Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Members of Cookstown District Council Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Politicians from County Tyrone Social Democratic and Labour Party politicians Solicitors from Northern Ireland