Legendary circus showman Tom Duffy passes away aged 92

Legendary Irish circus director, Tom Duffy, has died aged 92.

A family statement said:

Tom was born in his mother's caravan in Limavady, Northern Ireland, in 1929, whilst the family circus was performing there.

One of seven brothers and one sister, he started performing in the circus ring at the age of five. He performed a double trapeze act with his brother, Arthur, and was known as 'The Boy with the Iron Jaw,' as he would hold his brother from a leather strap held between his teeth whilst suspended upside down from the trapeze 40 feet above the audience.

He was an expert horse rider as well as trapeze artist. Following the death of his mother, Lena and father, James, Tom ran the family circus with his six brothers.

In 1979 he decided to put his own show on the road with his wife Gertie and their son, David, and so, on the 5th of April, Tom's 50th birthday, 'Tom Duffy's Circus' gave its first performance in Blessington, County Wicklow.

Since then, his circus has built a reputation as one of the leading circuses in Europe.

Around 30 years ago, Tom had an operation for colon cancer and was given six months to live. He told his surgeon that he was 'too busy to die' and that he would get back to them when it was more convenient.

In 2005 he had a kidney removed because of cancer and was back in his role as Ringmaster five days later.

As Tom stepped back from his role in the ring, he could always be seen during each performance sitting in his director's chair at the front of the Big Top, keeping a wise eye on the show and not being slow in giving his sometimes-critical comments. Members of the audience would come up to him at the end of the performances to reminisce and have their photo taken with
him.
Tom suffered a stroke some years ago and became a resident at Peamount Healthcare, County Dublin. Since living there, he suffered numerous heart attacks and recovered from Covid twice. Sharp minded and humorous until the
end, he had a great relationship with the staff who cared for him there, regaling them with stories from his life.

Over the last two years, Tom had become very concerned about the effect Covid had on the family with the circus being closed for eighteen months but he was reassured once the circus began to tour again before he passed away.

Tom's son, David, said 'My Dad was a legend. He dedicated his whole life to entertaining the Irish public. His legacy will live on. His name will always be up in lights inside the Big Top. To his family, he will always be 'The Greatest Showman.'

Tom is survived by his son, David, daughter-in-law Stephanie, grandsons, Tom and Jamie and his brother Freddy.