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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance. Now, when it comes to circuses in Ireland, one name stands above the rest, and that is Duffy's Circus. And like many other businesses across the country, Duffy's Circus is really struggling to keep up with the cost of living crisis.
I'm joined now by the managing director of Duffy's Circus, David Duffy, who says he will do anything to keep the legacy of the 250-year-old circus alive. David, you're very welcome to the programme.
Thank you very much for having me, Clare.
Not at all delighted to talk to you. And your business and your family's business, it has been part of Irish life for generations.
Chapter 2: What challenges is Duffy's Circus facing in the current economic climate?
What does the legacy mean to you personally?
The legacy means everything to me, Clare. I'm very proud of our legacy. Obviously, I'm the fifth generation of my family in the business. My two sons, who are now actually running the show, they're the sixth generation. and I have an 18-month-old granddaughter who's the seventh generation. So the legacy of my family is very important. We've gone through a lot in the circus's lifetime.
We've gone through two world wars. We've gone through our War of Independence, the Civil War, the Troubles, and I've always managed to keep the circus on the road.
And you told the Sunday Independent you made a promise to your father that you would keep it going.
Well, I mean, that was the most important thing, Clare. And in hard times like it is now, my dad's legacy is very important. I was very, very close to my dad. My dad made a brave decision when he was 50 to leave the rest of his brothers and for us to start out our own circus, which was then Tom Duffy Circus. A few weeks before my dad died,
I told him that the circus would never change its name because over the years it's been like James Duffy or John Duffy or Duffy Brothers. But I said that for as long as this circus keeps going, it'll always be Tom Duffy Circus. It'll always be my dad's name that will be up on lights. And my dad, it's a promise I made to myself and everybody else
that my dad's name will never be forgotten because he dedicated his whole life to entertaining the people in Ireland. And I think his legacy is very important. And as I say, it's important to me, it's important to his grandsons. And it's the one thing, Clare, that will probably keep us going in these very hard times.
Well, tell me about the hard times, because I think a lot of people were shocked to see that you said you'd be lucky to make it to October. So what's going on?
Well, really, Clare, what's going on is like what I don't want to put across is that the circus is dying for the lack of support. We get huge support from the public. You know, we are the most well-known and best circus in Ireland.
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Chapter 3: How does David Duffy feel about the legacy of Duffy's Circus?
They won't give us parks. Now, okay, in fairness, Dublin City Council reached out to us the other day and confirmed that we can have our ground on Clontarf Road for August of this year. But they also have loads of other parks in Dublin in areas that don't get any live entertainment. And it's been proven that children's first ever contact with live entertainment has been circuses.
So, like, we're constantly asking them. I have to actually call out Fingal Council as being the worst. There seems to be, I mean, nothing short of a discrimination against circuses and funfairs in Fingal.
Let me address that because we went to Fingal County Council and we asked them about it. And they say they acknowledge the longstanding cultural significance of the traditional circus in Ireland. And when they got correspondence from you, the operations department checked availability of parks and public open spaces.
And they've advised you that there's no availability this year because they've got other events and activities already in place. They say they're not in a position to grant permission for the operation of a circus on council owned land outside of the public procurement and concession processes. So that they're bound by EU directives, national legislation, government procurement policy and so on.
And you'd have to apply through all of those procedures, which sounds like it's quite difficult and complicated.
Okay, so my answer to that is, has the park not been available in the last 10 years that we've been applying every year? And they say, yes, they have to go by guidelines where you have to tender. But they've also said in an email to us numerous times that they have no intention of allowing a circus or a funfair to tender for a Millennium Park.
Even though we are protected by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, they say they have no intention. When we reached out to them again last year after years of applying and bearing in mind that they have loads of events on the Millennium Park every year, they have an ice rink there for three months every year on the same footprint as what we would use.
But when we eventually got a Zoom meeting with them last year, Clare, and it was the most hostile meeting I've ever had in my life. Now, my daughter-in-law was in on the meeting and she cried afterwards. We were virtually told that the first line was, you are not getting Millennium Park. I'm telling you, I'm not giving it to you.
How dare you ask what was the procedure and going into it and was told there was none.
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Chapter 4: What promise did David Duffy make to his father regarding the circus?
So we have to have now with this new legislation, there is a 50-50 rule that for every non-EU member, we have to have an EU member. So that's very difficult to us when we have to like really go out to the likes of South America or Africa to get our artists in.
And then if we lose maybe a troop saying from Cuba or from Kenya or Morocco, well then we're obliged really to sack the five or six EU people that we have to make sure that we balance up the numbers. And I mean, it's so ridiculous to the point of that I have to, when we apply for a work permit,
we have to put in our local job centre an advertisement looking like for a flying trapeze act or a high wire act. And they're not very common in Ireland, I can tell you.
I can imagine they'll be difficult to find a trapeze artist in Ireland. David, it's been lovely to talk to you and I wish you well. And listen, I hope that things improve for you and for everyone at Duffy's Circus. That is David. The Clare Byrne Show. With Aviva Insurance. Weekday mornings at 9 on Newstalk. Conversation that counts.