Tom Duffy's Circus
Clown performing at Duffy's Circus in 1911
Origin
CountryIreland[1]
Founder(s)Tom Duffy[2]
Year founded1775 (1775)[3]
Information
Ringmaster(s)David Duffy[4]
Type of acts
Websitewww.duffyscircus.com

Tom Duffy's Circus is an Irish family-run travelling circus, headquartered in Navan, County Meath, Ireland.[5] It is Ireland's number one circus and has one of the oldest big tops in the world, dating back to the 18th century.[6]

History

Duffy's Circus was originally founded in 1775.[3] The Duffy family's involvement in circuses stretches back to a young shoemaker from Dublin, Patrick James Duffy, who performed as an acrobat in circuses in the 1840s in England. He had seven children, six of them got involved in the circus. In the 1870s, Duffy's second son, John, founded the John Duffy Circus. The family toured for three seasons before family divisions caused them to split in 1917 into two separate companies. Following John Duffy's death in 1956, the circus split between his son James and his uncle. By 1961, there was one company left which took another split, for Tom Duffy's Circus to come in existence. In the late 1970s, Tom Duffy became the owner and CEO of the circus.[4][2]

Duffy's son David is the current ringmaster of the circus and is run by his sons, Tom and Jamie, the sixth generation of performers from their family.[4][7] Tom Duffy's Circus is Ireland's number one circus and includes acts from all over the world.[6]

In 2018, Tom and Jamie won a Silver Clown Award at the Monte-Carlo Circus Festival in Monaco.[6]

On 20 April 2020, owner and former ringmaster Tom Duffy tested positive for COVID-19 in his nursing home.[8][9] He recovered one month later on 20 May.[10][11] On 15 March 2022, it was announced that Duffy had died aged 92.[12]

2018 Donegal circus incident

On the night of 17 April 2018, a number of people were hurt after a circus performer fell through a safety net at the circus in Donegal Town in County Donegal. During the performance, a trapeze artist fell through the safety net onto a number of people below who were watching the show. The performer, as well as one other person watching the show, were injured. They were taken to Sligo University Hospital[13][14] by two ambulances called to the scene.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Prices". duffyscircus.com. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 Connolly, Colm (3 October 1986). "Duffy's Circus Stage Show In Irish 1986". RTÉ Libraries and Archives. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Top act with Duffy's circus - The Three Rs". The Irish Times. 15 May 2001. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Murphy, Damien (29 July 2015). "Circus Time: Can the Big Top Survive? - Dublin Inquirer". Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Duffy's Circus Limited". vision-net.ie. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "Tom Duffy's Circus". duffyscircus.com. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  7. ↑ Coles, Amy (17 February 2017). "Pair of Irish daredevil circus brothers tell of their shocking death threats from animal rights activists". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Walsh, Louise (22 April 2020). "Circus ringmaster who has beaten cancer twice tests positive for Covid-19 days after 91st birthday". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "The Greatest Showman, Tom Duffy has tested positive for Covid 19... - Tom Duffy's Circus - Facebook". facebook.com. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Ringmaster Tom Duffy recovers from coronavirus at 91". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Dunne, Alex (20 May 2020). "Coronavirus Ireland: Circus ringmaster Tom Duffy beats Covid-19 at 91 years old after beating cancer twice". Dublin Live. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Lynott, Laura (15 March 2022). "Ireland's 'Greatest Showman' Tom Duffy from renowned circus family has died". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  13. ↑ Maguire, Stephen (18 April 2018). "Several hurt after Tom Duffy's Circus performer falls through safety net in Donegal". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  14. ↑ Maguire, Stephen (18 April 2018). "Several hurt as circus performer falls through safety net". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
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