Sir Charles Gavan Duffy aka Gavan Duffy (1816–1903) is best known in Ireland as a Young Irelander and one of the founding members of The Nation newspaper. A journalist, poet and politician, he went on to become one of the most colourful figures in Australian political history. The suburb of Duffy in the Australian Capital Territory is named after him.
Duffy was born in Dublin Street, Monaghan Town, his father a Catholic shopkeeper. Orphaned in childhood, he was raised by the P.P. of Castleblayney – his uncle, Fr. James Duffy. He was educated at St Malachy's College, Belfast, and later read Law at the King's Inns Dublin.
He was called to the bar in 1845. In 1842, he married Emily McLaughlin, who died in 1845. He married Susan Hughes in 1846, with whom he had six children.
In 1850, Gavan Duffy formed the Tenant Right League to bring about reforms in the Irish land system and protect tenants' rights, and in 1852 he was elected to the House of Commons for New Ross.
In 1856, despairing of the prospects for Irish independence, he resigned from the House of Commons and emigrated with his family to Australia. After being feted in Sydney and Melbourne, Duffy settled in the newly-formed Colony of Victoria where he became the 8th Premier of Victoria in 1871. In recognition of his services to Victoria, he was knighted in 1873 and was made KCMG in 1877.
In 1880 (about the time the above photo was taken) he quit politics and retired to France. There, he married for a third time to Louise Hall in 1881 and had four more children. He died age 86 in Nice, France.
| Additional Information | ||
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| Date of Birth | 12th Apr 1816 | |
| Date of Death | 9th Feb 1903 | |
