Frank Duff

Frank Duff was born at 97 Phibsboro Road in Dublin on 7 June 1889, the eldest of seven children in a wealthy family that later moved to St Patrick's Road, Drumcondra. He joined the Civil Service in 1908, entered the Society of St Vincent de Paul in 1913, and confronted the brutal poverty hidden inside the city. That shock helped shape his belief that ordinary people could answer God's call without waiting for clergy or institutions to act for them.