Francis Duffy KC*HS (born 21 April 1958) is an Irish

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

who has served as

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ) is an Episcopal polity, archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Cathol ...

since 2022.

Early life and education

Duffy was born in

Bawnboy Bawnboy () is a small village and townland in a valley at the foot of Slieve Rushen, between Ballyconnell and Swanlinbar, in County Cavan, Ireland. A synod of the Catholic Provincial Council of Armagh was held in Owengallees, ''Baunbuidhe'' ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

, on 21 April 1958, the son of Frank Duffy and his wife Mary Catherine (née Dolan). He attended primary school at Munlough National School, Bawnboy, and secondary school at St Patrick's College,

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

, before studying for the priesthood at

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

, completing a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

and a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

. Duffy was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Kilmore on 20 June 1982.

Presbyteral ministry

In 1983, Duffy completed a higher diploma in education, and was appointed to teach history, religion and Irish at St Patrick's College,

, where he taught history, religion and Irish. He left the school in 1994 to undertake further study and completed both a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in history from the

National University of Ireland Maynooth Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

and a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

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 ...

. In 1996 he was appointed principal of Fatima and Felim's Secondary School,

Ballinamore Ballinamore (, meaning "mouth of the big ford") is a small town in the south-east of County Leitrim in Ireland. Etymology , corrupted ''Bellanamore'', means "town at the mouth of the big ford", so named because it was a main crossing (ford) o ...

. Duffy was appointed diocesan secretary, financial administrator and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in 2008, as well as communications officer and archivist. He was subsequently appointed resident priest in Laragh the following year, during which time he also completed a doctorate in education.

Episcopal ministry

Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise

Duffy was appointed Bishop-elect of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 17 July 2013. He was consecrated by the

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

, Seán Brady, on 6 October in

St Mary's Pro-Cathedral St Mary's Church (), known also as St Mary's Pro-Cathedral or simply the Pro-Cathedral, the Chapel in Marlborough Street or the Pro, is a pro-cathedral and is the episcopal seat of the Archbishop of Dublin (Catholic Church), Catholic Archbisho ...

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

Archbishop of Tuam

Duffy was appointed Archbishop-elect of Tuam by Pope Francis on 10 November 2021. He was installed on 9 January 2022 in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

. In 2023 Archbishop Duffy was invested as a Knight Grand Officer in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Apostolic Administrator of Killala

In response to a wider reorganisation of diocesan church leadership in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

, and following the retirement of John Fleming as

Bishop of Killala The Bishop of Killala () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Killala in County Mayo, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bis ...

, Duffy was appointed

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

sede vacante In the Catholic Church, ''sede vacante'' is the state during which a diocese or archdiocese is without a prelate installed in office, with the prelate's office being the cathedral. The term is used frequently in reference to a papal interre ...

'' of

Killala Killala () is a village in County Mayo in Ireland, north of Ballina. The railway line from Dublin to Ballina once extended to Killala. To the west of Killala is the townland of Townsplots West (known locally as Enagh Beg), which contains a num ...

on 10 April 2024.

References

External links

Archbishop Francis Duffy
on

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

Archbishop Francis Duffy
on GCatholic
Archbishop Francis Duffy
on Archdiocese of Tuam {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Francis 1958 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Roman Catholic archbishops of Tuam Christian clergy from County Cavan Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Alumni of the National University of Ireland People educated at St Patrick's College, Cavan 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Bishops appointed by Pope Francis