SIR Patrick Duffy KSG, believed to have been the oldest living former parliamentarian in these islands, has died peacefully aged 105.
Sir Patrick passed away at 5am on Friday, January 2 at Doncaster Hospital following a short illness.
Born in Wigan on June 17, 1920 to Irish parents, James and Margaret Duffy from Co. Mayo, he was raised in Doncaster but maintained a deep and lifelong connection to Ireland. A formative moment came at the age of 12, when he was sent on a 30-hour journey to stay with relatives in Raith, Co Mayo — an experience he recalled vividly and with affection throughout his life.
During the Second World War, Sir Patrick served as a Fleet Air Arm pilot. In one extraordinary episode, his aircraft crashed into a Scottish mountain in poor weather. He was left in the wreckage for two days, received the Last Rites twice, and underwent pioneering reconstructive surgery. Remarkably, he later returned to flying.
He left the armed forces in 1946 with the rank of Commander at the Naval School of Air Radar.
After the war, Sir Patrick entered politics, serving as MP for Colne Valley and later Sheffield Attercliffe. He held ministerial roles under both Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan and went on to become President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly during some of the most tense years of the Cold War.
His memoir, From Wigan to Westminster: Hot Wars, Cold Wars and the Carrier Strike Groups, published last year, was widely praised for its clarity and recall — qualities friends attributed to his famously “pin-sharp” memory. In the book, he recounts close encounters with world leaders and a private audience with Pope John Paul II, during which he lobbied for development funding.
Despite his long career in Westminster, Sir Patrick’s Irish identity remained central to his life. He was a regular visitor to his home in Co. Roscommon and retained strong ties with the Irish community in Britain. Friends recall that he had a particular fondness for Fiona, whom he often met at Irish events in Sligo.
A Knight of St Gregory, Sir Patrick was widely respected across political and community life, and was known personally to many within the Irish diaspora.
His funeral is expected to take place later this month.
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