Bernard Joseph Duffy (19 June 1882 – 31 March 1952) was an Irish barrister, novelist and playwright. Duffy was born in

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The population was 5,745 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a castle buil ...

to James Joseph Duffy and Mary Anne McEntagart. He was educated at Viscount Weymouth Grammar School and obtained his M.A. from

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

.Woods, Ralph Louis. (1947). ''The World of Dreams, an Anthology: The Mystery, Grandeur, Terror, Meaning and Psychology of Dreams''. Random House. p. 845 He was called to the Irish bar in 1907 and worked as a barrister for eight years. He retired to manage his father's mineral-water business. He authored two novels ''Oriel'' (1918) and ''The Rocky Road'' (1929) and twelve plays. Duffy was on the executive committee of the Dublin Drama League and was involved in establishing the Irish Drama Union in 1919. His plays were produced at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

. Duffy spent several years conducting laboratory work at Dublin University; he was interested in

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

research. In 1944, he authored his only non-fiction work, ''Food for Thought: A Treatise on Memory, Dreams and Hallucinations''. The book defends a type of

animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

, arguing against materialism. Duffy stated that the mind has an independent existence from the brain and interacts with it through the medium of a third substance.

Selected publications

Novels *''Oriel'' (1918) *''The Rocky Road'' (1929) Non-fiction *''Food for Thought: A Treatise on Memory, Dreams and Hallucinations'' (1944) Plays *''The Coiner'' (1915) *''Fraternity'' (1916) *''Oriel'' (1918) *''The Old Lady'' (1916) *''The Spell'' (1924) *''Cupboard Love'' (1931)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Bernard 1882 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Irish novelists Abbey Theatre Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Dream researchers Irish barristers People from Carrickmacross