He was part of a new generation of public servants in the new State, writes Finola Kennedy W hen EP McCarron, former Secretary of the Department of Local Government and Public Health, died in 1970, Frank Duff wrote an Appreciation in The Irish Times. He said that his aim was to cast a true light…

The Irishman had key insights about the lay vocation ahead of his time, writes Fr John Harris OP In this age of synodality within the Church, it is opportune for us to recall the importance of the laity in the Church and there is no better champion or challenger of this cause that Frank Duff,…

Frank Duff treated women with absolute equality in his relationships and his views, writes Dr Evie Monaghan Frank Duff’s outreach to marginalised women has long been recognised. Perhaps the most enduring legacy of the Legion of Mary, the organisation founded by Duff and a group of lay women in 1921, was its mission to ‘street…

Legion of Mary president Mary Murphy tells Ruadhán Jones about the Legion’s growth and desire to convert the world The Legion of Mary’s beginnings were, as founder Frank Duff put it himself, quite inconspicuous. A small group including Duff gathered on September 7, 1921, in Myra House on Francis St, the date which marks the…

Fr Bede McGregor OP on Frank Duff’s vision of a laity called to sainthood On September 7 2021, the Legion of Mary celebrated 100 years of existence. Of course, we will also be celebrating the life and message of the Founder of the Legion, the Servant of God Frank Duff (1889 – 1980). In this…

Ruadhán Jones learns about Frank Duff from those who knew him personally Having read this far through the paper, you may have a sense of Frank Duff through his great achievements: the legacy of his lay apostolate; his remarkable outreach to the poor and vulnerable; and his spiritual vision. But what of Frank Duff, friend…

Former envoy to South America, Noel Lynch reflects on one of the Legion’s brightest lights Alfie Lambe was a typical youth of his day. When he was a teenager, he joined the Irish Christian brother’s novitiate, but after a few years he was asked to leave. He used to get fainting fits. He returned home…

Raymond Mulrooney writes about the longest serving manager of the Morning Star Hostel In this year of the Centenary of the Legion of Mary, it is right and proper to remember the many stalwart members who forged the way that led to the solid foundation of the future Legion of which we are proud to…

Annette Mulrooney tells the story of the famous legionary’s valiant mission to Africa The story of Edel Quinn (September 14 1907 –May 12 1944) and her apostolic work in Africa as envoy of the Legion of Mary is now well known, but what sort of person was she in herself? The impression given by Cardinal…

The story of the Legion’s extraordinary, though short-lived, success in China The story of the Legion of Mary in China is markedly different from any other of the 170 countries in which it has started in these past 100 years. It is different because of how the authorities in China reacted to its presence; it…