The Ulster History Circle will commemorate Charles Duff (1894-1966) writer and linguist, by the unveiling of a Blue Plaque on today (Thursday) at Forthill Street in Enniskillen.
The plaque will be unveiled by a descendant of the family.
Charles Duff was born on April 7,1894 at Ely Place. His father, John from County Monaghan and his mother, Annie from Co. Sligo settled in Enniskillen where John Duff was associated with the Railway.
As a former pupil in 1911 of Portora Royal School, Charles Duff’s early childhood in Enniskillen is recalled in his autobiographical book ‘No Angel’s Wing’ in which his affection for Fermanagh and the value he placed on his roots is evident.
He was a man of many gifts including an innate facility for languages which allowed him to pursue many roles. Although in his adolescence he resisted the constraints of formal education, he was a natural scholar. This contradiction is reflected in the diverse, eventful and unconventional progress of his early adulthood as mariner, soldier and army interpreter, and later as barrister, Foreign Office press officer, journalist, linguist and writer. His writings are similarly varied and encompass many genres including translator, teacher, playwright, social and political commentator, literary critic, satirist, biographer, historian and writer of science fiction.
Charles Duff was largely self-taught and pursued studies in Spanish, French and German. His facility with languages assisted his early career with the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. In 1916 he joined the British Army and served on the Western Front and in Italy. In the army his knowledge of Portuguese and Italian was utilised. He had been gassed in France and was hospitalised for some months after Armistice.
Perhaps his best known work ‘A Handbook on Hanging’ is a plea against capital punishment. The German translation of this has the distinction of having been burnt by the Nazis in I93I. The book first published in I928, has had numerous editions and reprints and has been republished within the past 8 years by the ‘New York Review of Books’.
Sadly this largely forgotten son of Enniskillen died in 1966.
Mr. Chris Spurr, Chairman of the Ulster History Circle said: “Charles Duff has a different and distinctive profile as an author, to two other Irish writers already commemorated by blue plaques in Enniskillen, Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett. By commemorating this writer and linguist with a blue plaque at his birthplace, the Ulster History Circle trusts that renewed interest will be taken in Charles Duff’s life and work. The Circle would especially like to thank Fermanagh Genealogy, and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council for their financial support towards the plaque”.
In a comment from Mr. Frank McHugh, Secretary of Fermanagh Genealogy, said: “Charles Duff is relatively unknown today in Fermanagh. In supporting the unveiling of the Ulster History Circle plaque, Fermanagh Genealogy is seeking to highlight an important literary figure of the 20th Century. He had an important association with Enniskillen, the place of his birth, and Fermanagh obviously held a very special place in his heart, as when he died, his ashes were spread in Lough Erne, just below Portora Castle”.