Paddy Duffy (politician)
Patrick Aloysius Duffy (July 1934 – 1996), known as Paddy Duffy, was an Irish nationalist politician.
Born in Stewartstown, County Tyrone, Duffy studied at St Patrick's Academy in Dungannon and then Queen's University Belfast before becoming a solicitor.[1] He became politically active in the Nationalist Party,[2] then in the Unity movement, acting as agent for Frank McManus, the successful candidate in Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the 1970 general election.[1]
After the election, Duffy was a key founder member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and served as its first treasurer.[1] He was elected to Cookstown District Council at the 1973 Northern Ireland local elections, and then at the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election he won a seat in Mid Ulster,[1] which he successfully defended on the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention in 1975. He also retained his council seat in 1977 and 1981.[3] However, he proved less successful on the national stage, taking second place in Mid Ulster at the 1979 general election.[4]
In the late 1970s, Duffy became known for his outspoken support of Northern Irish independence,[5] although he did concede that there would need to be some form of federal structure covering the entire island.[6] He objected to the arrangements for the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election, refused to stand, and unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the SDLP to boycott the election,[7] and called for its assembly members to withdraw after Seamus Mallon was disqualified.[8] 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 and 1989.[2][9]
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 and co-operative movements. At the time of his death in 1996, he was a member of the board of the International Fund for Ireland.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d Ted Nealon, Ireland: a Parliamentary Directory 1973-1974, p.207
- ^ a b Fionnuala O'Connor, In search of a state: Catholics in Northern Ireland, pp.154, 203
- ^ "The Local Government Elections 1973-1981: Cookstown", Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ "Mid-Ulster 1973-1982", Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ Sean Cronin, Irish nationalism: a history of its roots and ideology, p.301
- ^ Bernard Crick, Political thoughts and polemics, p.72
- ^ Sydney Elliot et al, The 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election, p.23
- ^ Keesing's Contemporary Archives (1983), p.150
- ^ "Local Government Elections 1985 -1989: Cookstown", Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America (1996), p.486
