Patrick Duffy (5 April 1921 – 18 October 1987) was an Irish fencer. He competed at the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

. He was a

fencing master Masters of Defence or Masters of Fencing is a widespread guild of teachers specializing in close combat military techniques with weapons, civilian fighting skills, and unarmed combat. The title was coined during the medieval period, and referred to ...

(

Maître d'armes (spelled according to post-1990 spelling rules) is a commonly used honorific for lawyers, judicial officers and notaries in France, Belgium, Switzerland and French-speaking parts of Canada. It is often written in its abbreviated form ''Me'' or ...

Career

Duffy began

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

competitively in 1946. Two years later, he made his first

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

début representing

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

with the Irish fencing team at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad. The Summer Olympic Games were held at the Palace of Engineering, Wembley, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in July 1948. The 1948 Summer Olympics were the first games to be held since the 1936 Olympics in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Duffy was among the first five fencers to compete for Ireland in the Olympics, all of whom competed in the 1948 event. He represented his country, on behalf of the Irish Fencing Federation (IFF), alongside three other men,

Harry Thuillier Harry Thuillier (13 September 1922 – 26 April 2011) was an Irish fencer, table tennis international and broadcaster. He was educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S., Glasnevin. He competed in the individual foil events at the 1952 and 1960 Summe ...

Owen Tuohy Owen Tuohy (25 October 1921 – 8 July 2007) was an Irish fencer. He competed in the individual and team foil events at the 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded ...

, and Tom Smith, and Dorothy Dermody. At the age of 27, Duffy competed with the Irish Men's

Foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

team, making him the youngest participant to compete for the Irish fencing team that summer. He was the only Irish participant to compete solely in team events, while the three other men also competed in the individual foil events. The team were unsuccessful in the first round of the competition after losing against both the French and Egyptian foil teams, eliminating them from the competition, and ending their chances of an

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...

. At the age of 31, Duffy made his second Olympic appearance representing Ireland at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad. The games were held at the Westend Tennis Hall in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

city,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Duffy attended the games alongside three other Irish fencers, George Carpenter,

and Tom Kearney. He competed in the men’s individual foil event between 23 and 24 July 1952, and later that week he also competed in the men’s individual

épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

event between 27 and 28 July 1952. He competed in round one of the men’s individual foil event, and round one of the men’s épée event. However, he was unsuccessful in both events, and failed to rank in the top four finishers which would have resulted in his advancement to the quarter finals.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Patrick 1921 births 1987 deaths Irish male épée fencers Olympic fencers for Ireland Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Irish male foil fencers 20th-century Irish sportsmen