By Jack Tibbetts

Copyright derryjournal

Raised in Galliagh, 44-year-old Stephen Duffy said that he always wanted to join the Irish Army. But the path there was not an easy one. The Derry man said he had a hard time in school due to information on dyslexia not being widely known at the time. Stephen left school with no qualifications or GCSEs, and at the time this left him with a low self esteem. “I was very good at hiding it, but it did hurt,” said Stephen. This, however, did not dissuade him to try out for the Irish Army, at 20 years of age Stephen put in his first application, but he didn’t make the platoon. Stephen recalled how it felt at the time ‘like a dagger in my heart’. Undeterred, Stephen reapplied. He described the interview stage as the worst of his life, walking into a vast room to face five interviewers. Communication in the room was poor due to the assembled group not being able to understand each other’s accents. Stephen said: “I couldn’t wait to get out of there, it was the worst interview I had ever done. “I broke my heart crying to my father. I said, ‘Daddy, maybe this just isn’t for me.’ My da said, ‘No, son, we will go again.’ Just those couple of words helped. I had supportive parents all the way through my school life; they were always there for me.” Before applying again, Stephen sought help with his interview skills. He learned never to turn your back during an interview, to keep your hands on your knees, and to speak confidently. “For the third interview, I was ready, ” said Stephen. “One of the questions they asked was what makes you better than others here today. I said, ‘Well, having a working-class attitude, I wouldn’t say I’m better than others, but I think I have qualities that the defence forces could use.’” Already being an athletic man, Stephen passed the fitness test but yet again came across another hurdle. His height. At 5.45ft Stephen was eligible to join the army but the doctor who examined him was working off old notes that stated he had to be 5.6. “I got a phone call apologising, asking if I could come back. I nearly never got in the third time too,” laughed Stephen. At the age of 23 Stephen signed the dotted line joining the Irish Army in 2004. Passing out is the ceremony the army holds that officially recognises civilians transitioning to members of the Irish Army. Stephen said: “One of the proudest moments of my life was passing out as a two-star recruit in Athlone. A lot of aunts and uncles came down for it, too. We marched in the square, and our commander gave us our two stars. We saluted him and marched off. It was so amazing.” Now part of the army, Stephen would go on to tour the world. His first overseas trip in 2005 was to Liberia on a United Nations-led mission. “We were peacekeeping there for six months, we also helped the orphanage. We got on really well with Sister Gomez. All we did was build them a shed and donated a generator, but that helped them feed hundreds more people. It was a tough mission,” said Stephen. During their mission in Liberia, the country was struggling with an AIDS epidemic. Stephen and other Irish Army soldiers often gave sweets to the children in the orphanage, but he said the children did not understand what they were being given. He described the time he held the hands of two crying sisters in the orphanage, hoping to bring them some comfort. At the age of 24, he said it was an emotional moment and that it gave him an appreciation of life. Stephen continued: “We did patrols to the Iron mines. When I say patrols, it wasn’t going out that day and coming back; it was two weeks. “It was a bit of soldiering on that trip, which was brilliant, because I was a young fella and it’s what you signed up for. “On one patrol, we heard high-pitched screaming. Me and another fella went down to see what it was. It was a witch doctor ridding a woman of her demons. Her eyes were white. We were getting to see their culture, which was amazing.” In 2008 he was sent out to Kosovo, under a NATO led mission, and in 2017 to Syria. Due to the intensity of the fighting, the Irish Army was evacuated. Stephen said: “Each trip, I learned about different cultures, about people’s way of thinking. You have to respect their culture, they might not necessarily do things the way we do, but we are there in their lands.” The Galliagh man’s last trip was to Lebanon in 2020, during COVID. Wedding bells rang in 2023 when Stephen married his now wife Catriona Duffy in Burt Chapel. Stephen said at this point he knew his military career was coming to an end. Stephen retired from the Army on April 28, 2025 as a Corporal. Now he teaches kids swimming in Templemore Sports Complex as part of the Swim Team Leaders. When asked if he was proud of his achievements in the military Stephen said: “Definitely, I didn’t get it handed to me, I worked hard to get to what I achieved, I am very proud of that.” “Discipline, respect and courage,” is what Stephen credits the military with teaching him. “I only have good things to say because all I had was great experiences, what you put in is what you get out.”