Tom Duffy Circus

Tom Duffy's Circus is an Irish family run travelling circus and roadshow headquartered in Navan in County Meath It has one of the oldest ot the big tops in the world, dating back to the 18th. century. Duffy's Circus was originally founded in 1775. 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.

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. The circus includes acts from all over the world.

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

On 20 April 2020, owner and former ringmaster Tom Duffy tested positive for covid 19 in his nursing home. He recovered one month later on 20 May. On 15 March 2022, it was announced that Duffy had died aged 92.

Tom was fifth born of eight siblings. He can lay claim to being one of few to have lived in almost every town, city, village and hamlet in Ireland, even if only briefly, over his almost 90 years touring with Duffy’s Circus. Tom remained on tour for many years through the toughest of times, witnessing World War, The Troubles, fighting cancer, losing his wife Gertie, and embracing the changes and modernisation of a lifestyle and art that can be traced back through his family through the last few centuries. Tom Duffy tried and mastered many of the skill sets for an amazing all-round circus star, he was articulate in the ring as ringmaster, a capable and confident horseman and a general all-round acrobat able to turn his hand to any act that needed him. He was a showman at heart and never one to shy away from the spotlight, or a microphone. In April of 1979, his 50th birthday, he, his son, David, and wife Gertie created what is the current inception of Tom Duffy’s Circus. Through the years it has seen many changes and grown from strength to strength becoming one of the largest and most respected circuses in Europe. From the early days of the horse drawn wagons to the modern new trucks and living quarters he bore witness to immense changes and modernisations within the circus and entertainment industry.

health required Tom to step back, a little, and enjoy some comfort in his care home in Dublin, though he would still come and visit when the Circus was nearby, and he was often visited by his many friends and family. Tom was always a fighter, surviving two bouts of cancer and even catching and recovering from Covid. His strong character and charisma were always part of his larger-than-life persona, a warm welcome would be given to those inside the big Top when he was there. In recent years he watched on with pride as his Grandsons, Tom and Jamie, stepped up and into the spotlight, following in his footsteps becoming a headlining act.