Duffy is a name which comes from the Old Irish word "dubhthaich" which means "of the dark house". The Irish Duffys are a sept of the Scots Clan Macfie or McFie, which originated on the Island of Colonsay. The Scots Gaelic form of the name is "MacDubhsithe", which means "son of the People of Peace", or the faeryfolk.
"This name is now the single most common name in County Monaghan, where it originated. Its ( modern) Irish version is Ó Dubthaigh, which means black, probably referring to hair. In Ulster, Dowey is a common variant.
One of the most notorious holders of this name from County Monaghan was General Eoin O'Duffy, Chief Commissioner of the Garda Siochanna (the Irish police force) after independence. He was sacked from his position by the incoming de Valera government in the early 1930s and went on to found the extreme right-wing, fascist-style organisation known as the Blueshirts.
An earlier Duffy with an altogether more heroic career was Sir Charles
Gavan Duffy (1816-1903), Premier of the colony of Victoria, Australia.
He too was born in Monaghan town.
The American actor Patrick Duffy achieved worldwide fame in the 1980s as the character Bobby Ewing in the TV series Dallas."
The
Catholic St. Brighid, a figure largely if not wholly derived from the Celtic
Goddess Brighid, was spoken of as "Bridget the daughter of Dubhthaich of
Cill Dara" or Bridget Duffy of County Kildare. It has been handed
down in our family that the branch of the Duffys to which we belong originated
in Kildare and was descended from this very Saint!!!
My
father was Owen Henry, who was born July 13th, 1916, in Saranac Lake, New
York. His father's name was Henry Leo Duffy, and his
father's
name was Hugh, who married Mary Sandiford from London, England. Her father,
Owen Sandiford, was reputedly a dancing master in London.
My
father's mother was Anna Teresa McGuire. If anyone has any information
about any of the names mentioned here, please email me.