Guide to the Papers of Sir Charles Gavan Duffy (as filmed by the AJCP), 1840-1914
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Collection context
Summary
- Collection number:
- M672-M673
- Creator:
- Duffy, Charles Gavan, Sir, 1816-1903
- Extent:
- 12 items
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.
Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.
Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)
- Availability:
- Not for loan
- Access conditions:
- Available for reference.
Background
- Content Summary:
- Papers include: Letters to Duffy from various correspondents, including literary and political figures, from 1840-1902 including: Thomas O'Shea, W.S. O'Brien, Thomas Carlyle, Rober Lowe, Sir Redmond Barry, Sir Henry Parkes, Sir George Bowen, Lord Carnarvon and J Henniker Heaton. Correspondence 1842-92 between members of Duffy's circle and an account by Fred Lucas on his visit to Rome in 1855. Documents relating to the publication of Duffy's works include a cutting with author's amendments of an article by Duffy, "Half a century of boons to ungrateful Ireland". Documents concerning Duffy and Young Ireland, including a poem by Charles Kickham and accounts by Richard O'Gorman and T.B. MacManus of the Rising of 1848.
- Biographical / Historical:
-
{"persname":"Sir Charles Gavan Duffy (1816-1903)","content":"\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eSir Charles Gavan Duffy (1816-1903)\u003c/span\u003e was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, the son of a shopkeeper. He became an Irish nationist at an early age. In 1836. He joined the staff of the \u003cem\u003eMorning Register\u003c/em\u003e in Dublin and in 1839 he became the editor of the \u003cem\u003eVindicator\u003c/em\u003e in Belfast. In the same year he began studying law and he was admitted to the Bar in 1845. In 1842 he settled in Dublin, where he met John B. Dillon and Thomas Davis. Together they founded a weekly newspaper, the \u003cem\u003eNation\u003c/em\u003e, edited by Duffy, which combined news with literary criticism, poetry and social and political commentary. It was a spectacular success and was read throughout Ireland. The paper supported the efforts of Daniel O'Connell to repeal the Act of Union, but by 1845 the Young Irelanders had drifted away from O'Connell, condsidering him to be too moderate. The half-hearted uprising in July 1848 in County Tipperary led to several young Irelanders being convicted and transported to Australia. Duffy was imprisoned and charged with publishing articles of a treasonable nature, but in 1849 he was acquitted after the fifth trial. He re-established the \u003cem\u003eNation\u003c/em\u003e and organised the Tenant Right League, he was elected to the House of Commons in 1852. However, his efforts to create an Irish Independant Party were unsuccessful, partly due to the opposition of Dr Paul Cullen the Archbishop of Dublin. He resigned from Parliament and sold the \u003cem\u003eNation\u003c/em\u003e in 1855."}
In October 1855 Duffy and his family sailed to Australia. He set up as a barrister in Melbourne, but was soon elected to the first Victorian Parliament as a 'radical reformer'. He was Minister for Lands in 1858-1859 and 1861-1863 and was responsible for the 1862 Land Act. As leader of the free-traders, he was Premier and Chief Secretary in a coalition ministry in 1871-1872. He was knighted in 1873 and awarded the KCMG in 1877. He was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1877-1880.
Duffy returned to Europe in 1880 and settled in Nice in France. He devoted the last twenty years of his life to writing articles on contemporary political issues and books on historical subjects.
Duffy was the author of The ballard poetry of Ireland (1845, Young Ireland: a fragment of Irish history 1840-1845 (1880), Four years of Irish history 1845-1849 (1883), The League of the North and South: an episode in Irish history 1850-1854 (1886), Thomas Davis: the memoirs of an Irish patriot 1840-1846 (1890), Conversations with Carlyle (1892), and My life in two hemispheres (2 vols, 1898).
One of Duffy's sons, Frank Gavan Duffy, remained in Australia, practised law and eventually became Chief Justice of the High Court (1931-1935). Another son, Charles Gavan Duffy, was the Clark of the House of Representatives (1901-1917).
Access and use
- Conditions Governing Access:
- Available for Access.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.
- Preferred citation:
-
Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.
Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.
Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)
- Location of this collection:
-
Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
- Contact: