Bernard Duffy

Bernard Duffy
Born19 June 1882
Carrickmacross
Died31 March 1952
Carrickmacross
Occupation(s)Barrister, novelist

Bernard Joseph Duffy (19 June 1882 – 31 March 1952) was an Irish barrister, novelist and playwright.

Duffy was born in Carrickmacross to James Joseph Duffy and Mary Anne McEntagart.[1] He was educated at Viscount Weymouth Grammar School and obtained his M.A. from Trinity College Dublin.[2][3] He was called to the Irish bar in 1907 and worked as a barrister for eight years.[1] He retired to manage his father's mineral-water business. He authored two novels Oriel (1918) and The Rocky Road (1929) and twelve plays. Duffy was on the executive committee of the Dublin Drama League and was involved in establishing the Irish Drama Union in 1919.[1] His plays were produced at the Abbey Theatre.[1]

Duffy spent several years conducting laboratory work at Dublin University; he was interested in dream research.[2] In 1944, he authored his only non-fiction work, Food for Thought: A Treatise on Memory, Dreams and Hallucinations. The book defends a type of animism, arguing against materialism.[4] Duffy stated that the mind has an independent existence from the brain and interacts with it through the medium of a third substance.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ a b c d Allen, Nicholas (2009). "Bernard Joseph Duffy". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Woods, Ralph Louis. (1947). The World of Dreams, an Anthology: The Mystery, Grandeur, Terror, Meaning and Psychology of Dreams. Random House. p. 845
  3. ^ "Bernard Duffy". Oxford Reference. 2003. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Review: Psychology In Terms Of Animism". The British Medical Journal. 2 (4371): 502. 1944. JSTOR 20347079.
  5. ^ Coleman, Stanley M. (1945). "Food for Thought: A Treatise on Memory, Dreams and Hallucinations". Journal of Mental Science. 91 (382): 123. doi:10.1192/bjp.91.382.123.
  6. ^ Ritchie, A. D. (1944). "Food for Thought". Nature. 153: 723. doi:10.1038/154723b0.