Luke Duffy

Who was Luke Duffy?

Luke Joseph Duffy was an Irish trades unionist and Labour Party politician, who served for five years as a Senator.

Born in Gurteen, County Sligo in 1890, Duffy's first job was as a draper's apprentice in Moon's of Galway. By 1910, he was an active member of the local branch of the Irish Drapers' Assistants Association, and he was elected branch secretary in 1911. In the following years, he was vice-president and trustee of the Trades Council, secretary of the Volunteers and of the Galway City Gaelic Athletic Association, and active in the Irish National Foresters. In 1914, he chaired the IDAA's annual conference in Dublin. Sacked from Moon's for union activity in 1916, he was appointed Munster organiser of the IDAA. A few years later, he succeeded Michael O'Lehane as IDAA general secretary. In 1933, he became general secretary of the Irish Labour Party.

In 1944, he was elected by the Industrial and Commercial Panel as a member of the 5th Seanad. He was re-elected in 1948 to the 6th Seanad, but resigned when appointed to the board of the newly established Industrial Development Authority for Industry and Commerce, by Dan Morrisey, Minister for Industry and Commerce.