16th April 2008
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/news-gossip/keith-picks-up-a-real-bargain-in-frawleyrsquos-1349299.html
BOYZONE star Keith Duffy is breeding new life into Dublin institution "Frawleys" by joining forces with his dad to re-open the store.
The Evening Herald can reveal how it’s going to be a family affair for the Dublin star as he joins his father Sean to launch a shop for clothes in larger sizes on the site of Liberties institution.
There was huge sadness among the tight-knit southside community after the familyowned store, which sold everything from lace curtains to communion dresses, finished trading last June after 115 years.
Described as the end of an era when it shut up shop last summer, there were some suggestions that the multi-million euro site would be used to build apartments.
CONNECTIONS
Yet thanks to Keith’s immediate family connections in the famous shop, the store has now been re-opened under a new name ‘Plus and Minus’ and is also gearing itself towards a slightly bigger market.
“My dad worked in Frawley’s for more than 30 years as the buyer in the menswear department and about ten years ago, he starting doing clothes for bigger sizes, starting from XL and going all the way up and he found there was a huge market for it,” Keith explained.
“He’s basically been working since he was 12 and when the news of Frawley’s closure first came out, he decided he wasn’t ready to just retire so he decided to take over the shop with two friends, including a woman named Geraldine – who was the buyer for the womenswear – so they all have years of experience between them. I’m one of the directors in the company and it’s been going really well.”
And Keith’s dad decided to stick with the familiar when it came to the new store’s merchandising as the shop’s now specialising in plus size clothes for men and women, alongside a separate section for babies.
“They’re basically cool clothes for bigger people. My dad had a loyal client base that used to come into Frawley’s saying to him ‘where are we going to get our clothes once it closes?’ A lot of the stuff are clothes that you can’t buy in your average high street store as it would be things like extra large jackets and trousers with waists that go up to 60 inches,” he continued.
QUEUES
The singer, who’ll join his fellow bandmates for the start of Boyzone’s reunion tour in London on May 30, has admitted he was amazed at the reaction to the reopening from locals.
“We opened the shop last Friday and there was a queue a mile long out the door with all the people waiting to get in, it was unbelievable,” he added.
Now he’s busy planning to give the store an A-list re-opening on Thursday May 1. He’s pulling in all his contacts from the showbiz world to ensure there’s a healthy helping of celebs at the launch party, including Boyzone and a host of his You’re A Star pals.
He has also revealed how a Dublin radio station will be broadcasting live from the Thomas Street store on the day.
10 November 2009
Thumbs up for autism ball
14th March 2008
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/thumbs-up-for-autism-ball-1316141.html
It wasn't quite the stage he's used to with Boyzone, or even 'Coronation Street'. But 'You're A Star' judge Keith Duffy was right at home yesterday as he played around with autistic children in Galway.
Duffy and his wife, Lisa, have to date helped raise over €4m for Irish Autism Action.
Their daughter, Mia, who is autistic, has benefited hugely from receiving Applied Behaviour Analysis education.
Duffy travelled to Galway to lend his support to parents who are battling to fund the Abalta special school, which costs €200,000 each year to run.
"Anything I can do to help these kids, I will," Keith said.
He is hoping to make a big dent in the funding shortfall at the Keith Duffy Abalta Ball in Galway on May 16.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/thumbs-up-for-autism-ball-1316141.html
It wasn't quite the stage he's used to with Boyzone, or even 'Coronation Street'. But 'You're A Star' judge Keith Duffy was right at home yesterday as he played around with autistic children in Galway.
Duffy and his wife, Lisa, have to date helped raise over €4m for Irish Autism Action.
Their daughter, Mia, who is autistic, has benefited hugely from receiving Applied Behaviour Analysis education.
Duffy travelled to Galway to lend his support to parents who are battling to fund the Abalta special school, which costs €200,000 each year to run.
"Anything I can do to help these kids, I will," Keith said.
He is hoping to make a big dent in the funding shortfall at the Keith Duffy Abalta Ball in Galway on May 16.
When celebrity couple Keith and Lisa Duffy's daughter Mia was diagnosed with autism it had a huge impact on their lives
23rd February 2008
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/parenting/when-celebrity-couple-keith-and-lisa-duffys-daughter-mia-was-diagnosed-with-autism-it-had-a-huge--impact-on-their-lives-writes-jacqueline--kavanagh-1296156.html
At first glance, Keith and Lisa Duffy look like any other good-looking, well-off, celebrity couple whom the public have taken to heart and feel they know. These days, we're used to good-looking, well-off celebrities talking about "challenges", personal tragedies and charity work -- in fact, we demand it of them. But it's seldom we come across a couple as unaffected, honest and frank as Keith and Lisa.
Talking to Keith Duffy, it's obvious that there's more to him than mere celebrity rhetoric. And when the down-to-earth father-of-two talks about his family life and his utter frustration with the treatment of children with autism in this country, which he describes as a "fucking disgrace", it's then you get an indication that first impressions don't do them justice.
Thanks to the debate surrounding the smartness of the Boyzone comeback tour, starting in May, and his stint as a judge/mediator on RTE's You're a Star, Keith Duffy's name has remained in the public domain. However, while the work mightn't be as glamourous, or catch the headlines as often, he's been equally busy with Irish Autism Action (IAA) of late, a charity close to his heart.
He started fundraising after his daughter Mia was diagnosed with autism at 18 months -- a disability that affects the normal development of the brain in areas of social interaction and communication. And though he's raised an estimated €4m to date, he's adamant that it's the parents of autistic children who fundraised alongside him who deserve the credit.
There's no doubt in his mind that every cent put towards providing early diagnosis and appropriate education for children with autism is not only worth it, but vital. He speaks from personal experience after his family benefited from what he describes as "a miracle" last September when Mia walked through the gates of Rolestown National School, a mainstream school in Swords.
He believes her progress was made possible because she got the chance to attend ABACAS in Kilbarrack, North Dublin, a school that uses the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) method.
This is a personalised programme that involves breaking down tasks into small achievable steps, each achievement building on the previous.
The Dubliner, who is still sporting a cast on his arm following an accident in the gym, is surprisingly unguarded or shy about talking about his love for his stunning wife of 10 years, Lisa, and his two children, Jay (12) and Mia (8).
He smiles as he recalls the day his daughter was born. "When Mia came along, we had a gentleman's family, a little boy and a girl. I thought all we're short now is the gentleman," Keith laughs.
But by the time Mia was a year old, they began to suspect something was wrong.
"As she got a little older, we thought she might be deaf," he explains. "We couldn't get through to her, we thought she was ignoring us. She developped quirky ways, she wouldn't go outside the house and, if she was outside, her blanket would be over her head all the time. As open as Lisa and I are, we weren't talking and I didn't want to bring it up because I didn't want to face what was wrong."
He admits that the day he realised Mia had autism was devastating. "I hadn't cried like that in years, I was like a child; I couldn't catch my breath.
"The tears were streaming down my face," he says. "When I got home, I said to Lisa 'Mia is autistic' and she gave me a slap across the jaw. That was her way of having to accept something was wrong. It was a horrible time."
Lisa still finds it difficult to talk about that period of their lives without it bringing tears to her eyes.
"When Mia was diagnosed, Keith threw himself into fundraising as a way of dealing with it. I went the other way, I retreated and hid away for a while," she explains. "I found the fundraising difficult because, initially, I didn't want to accept it was real."
They very rapidly discovered just how difficult it was to get help. Waiting lists for diagnostic reports were anything up to two years. (The IAA, after years of fundraising have since opened their own centre, The Solas Centre, to help families get help and their children assessed.)
Mia started in ABACAS at the age of two and a half.
"When she went there first, she couldn't speak, had no communication skills, had no affection," Keith reveals. "She was very much in her own world. She'd hide underneath her bed, wouldn't open the hall door. There was no Daddy- or Mammy-daughter relationship. To us, she was lonely."
And, of course, her older brother Jay also struggled to understand his little sister.
"He used to get quite frustrated at times and would ask why his sister didn't like him or why she wouldn't speak to him and stuff like that," says Keith. "It was difficult trying to explain that she's autistic."
But, he says, the one-to-one teaching produced startling results and, at five, she spoke her first words.
"She loved watching musicals, like Lady and the Tramp and Annie and, one Sunday afternoon, we were sitting watching the telly and Mia came into the room and sang Tomorrow from Annie. That was the first thing to come out of her mouth," explains the proud father.
Lisa says that was a magical day.
"We were crying with joy," says Lisa, who reveals that up to that time their house was dotted with Post-It notes with pictures that Mia used to illustrate what she wanted.
It's obvious home life is central to Keith and that could well be as a result of his own happy childhood. He was brought up with his two brothers in Donaghmede. Christened Keith Peter Thomas Francis John Duffy, Keith says he was just a typical boy with "muck up to the eyeballs".
It was on the party scene in Dublin that Keith bumped into Louis Walsh and 'the boys', better known as Boyzone. It was also during this time he met Lisa, who gave him "the runaround for months". Career success followed, as did the tours and hectic schedules, which he says, put pressure on their relationship.
"We've had our ups and downs over the years," he says. "But we've always managed to get through the bullshit and realise why we're together in the first place. We're not this fantasy, happy couple; we do have a very ordinary life."
Lisa, too, admits that Keith's being away on tour for long periods was difficult.
"Keith would be coming home on a high after playing to maybe 18,000 people," she says. "And I'd be at home with the baby and maybe ask him to do something like stack the dishwasher and he'd look at me as if to say 'I'm back to this'. I'd to explain that this was real life."
Today, when not passing verdict on the 'stars' on RTE's talent show, Keith Duffy is launching charity events to raise money for the IAA. At the moment there are 12 schools providing ABA in Ireland teaching 300 children and there are at least another 300 youngsters on the schools' waiting lists.
Keith admits he finds it hard to comprehend why the state continues in the public, painful, drawn-out and expensive battles over autistic children and their rights to receive what is deemed "appropriate education".
"My daughter is in a mainstream setting and it's more than we ever hoped or dreamed of. But there are parents who are listening to my story who know this form of education is out there and they can't avail of it because there are waiting lists the length of both my arms for every one of these schools," he argues, clearly agitated.
He says that he doesn't want to get angry, but he's frustrated with a Board of Education that he claims isn't listening to the people who are best in the situation to advise them, the parents of children with autism.
Lisa admits that Keith has a more positive attitude to the situation than she does.
"I would be angry," she says. "I'd be angry that a child is losing out on an opportunity to fulfil their potential."
But sadly, Keith also thinks that until those making decisions are directly affected, the situation might not change.
"It's going to take one of the Board of Education members or one of the High Court judges to have a child or a grandchild with autism before they realise that this system of ABA can help a child with autism.
"It's the difference between being institutionalised and holding down a job in the bank," he points out.
The next few months are going to be extremely busy for the family. Boyzone are touring, something he admits he's excited about -- he's lost two stone since November getting in shape for his fans.
But more importantly, Mia, whom Lisa describes as the "happiest child in the world" will be making her First Communion in May. It's an achievement her parents attribute to getting the appropriate education at the right time, something they want for all autistic children.
BTkids joins forces with Keith to present Time to Shine, a family day at The Four Season's, Mother's Day, Sunday, March 2, dedicated to raising much-needed funds for Irish Autism Action.
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/parenting/when-celebrity-couple-keith-and-lisa-duffys-daughter-mia-was-diagnosed-with-autism-it-had-a-huge--impact-on-their-lives-writes-jacqueline--kavanagh-1296156.html
At first glance, Keith and Lisa Duffy look like any other good-looking, well-off, celebrity couple whom the public have taken to heart and feel they know. These days, we're used to good-looking, well-off celebrities talking about "challenges", personal tragedies and charity work -- in fact, we demand it of them. But it's seldom we come across a couple as unaffected, honest and frank as Keith and Lisa.
Talking to Keith Duffy, it's obvious that there's more to him than mere celebrity rhetoric. And when the down-to-earth father-of-two talks about his family life and his utter frustration with the treatment of children with autism in this country, which he describes as a "fucking disgrace", it's then you get an indication that first impressions don't do them justice.
Thanks to the debate surrounding the smartness of the Boyzone comeback tour, starting in May, and his stint as a judge/mediator on RTE's You're a Star, Keith Duffy's name has remained in the public domain. However, while the work mightn't be as glamourous, or catch the headlines as often, he's been equally busy with Irish Autism Action (IAA) of late, a charity close to his heart.
He started fundraising after his daughter Mia was diagnosed with autism at 18 months -- a disability that affects the normal development of the brain in areas of social interaction and communication. And though he's raised an estimated €4m to date, he's adamant that it's the parents of autistic children who fundraised alongside him who deserve the credit.
There's no doubt in his mind that every cent put towards providing early diagnosis and appropriate education for children with autism is not only worth it, but vital. He speaks from personal experience after his family benefited from what he describes as "a miracle" last September when Mia walked through the gates of Rolestown National School, a mainstream school in Swords.
He believes her progress was made possible because she got the chance to attend ABACAS in Kilbarrack, North Dublin, a school that uses the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) method.
This is a personalised programme that involves breaking down tasks into small achievable steps, each achievement building on the previous.
The Dubliner, who is still sporting a cast on his arm following an accident in the gym, is surprisingly unguarded or shy about talking about his love for his stunning wife of 10 years, Lisa, and his two children, Jay (12) and Mia (8).
He smiles as he recalls the day his daughter was born. "When Mia came along, we had a gentleman's family, a little boy and a girl. I thought all we're short now is the gentleman," Keith laughs.
But by the time Mia was a year old, they began to suspect something was wrong.
"As she got a little older, we thought she might be deaf," he explains. "We couldn't get through to her, we thought she was ignoring us. She developped quirky ways, she wouldn't go outside the house and, if she was outside, her blanket would be over her head all the time. As open as Lisa and I are, we weren't talking and I didn't want to bring it up because I didn't want to face what was wrong."
He admits that the day he realised Mia had autism was devastating. "I hadn't cried like that in years, I was like a child; I couldn't catch my breath.
"The tears were streaming down my face," he says. "When I got home, I said to Lisa 'Mia is autistic' and she gave me a slap across the jaw. That was her way of having to accept something was wrong. It was a horrible time."
Lisa still finds it difficult to talk about that period of their lives without it bringing tears to her eyes.
"When Mia was diagnosed, Keith threw himself into fundraising as a way of dealing with it. I went the other way, I retreated and hid away for a while," she explains. "I found the fundraising difficult because, initially, I didn't want to accept it was real."
They very rapidly discovered just how difficult it was to get help. Waiting lists for diagnostic reports were anything up to two years. (The IAA, after years of fundraising have since opened their own centre, The Solas Centre, to help families get help and their children assessed.)
Mia started in ABACAS at the age of two and a half.
"When she went there first, she couldn't speak, had no communication skills, had no affection," Keith reveals. "She was very much in her own world. She'd hide underneath her bed, wouldn't open the hall door. There was no Daddy- or Mammy-daughter relationship. To us, she was lonely."
And, of course, her older brother Jay also struggled to understand his little sister.
"He used to get quite frustrated at times and would ask why his sister didn't like him or why she wouldn't speak to him and stuff like that," says Keith. "It was difficult trying to explain that she's autistic."
But, he says, the one-to-one teaching produced startling results and, at five, she spoke her first words.
"She loved watching musicals, like Lady and the Tramp and Annie and, one Sunday afternoon, we were sitting watching the telly and Mia came into the room and sang Tomorrow from Annie. That was the first thing to come out of her mouth," explains the proud father.
Lisa says that was a magical day.
"We were crying with joy," says Lisa, who reveals that up to that time their house was dotted with Post-It notes with pictures that Mia used to illustrate what she wanted.
It's obvious home life is central to Keith and that could well be as a result of his own happy childhood. He was brought up with his two brothers in Donaghmede. Christened Keith Peter Thomas Francis John Duffy, Keith says he was just a typical boy with "muck up to the eyeballs".
It was on the party scene in Dublin that Keith bumped into Louis Walsh and 'the boys', better known as Boyzone. It was also during this time he met Lisa, who gave him "the runaround for months". Career success followed, as did the tours and hectic schedules, which he says, put pressure on their relationship.
"We've had our ups and downs over the years," he says. "But we've always managed to get through the bullshit and realise why we're together in the first place. We're not this fantasy, happy couple; we do have a very ordinary life."
Lisa, too, admits that Keith's being away on tour for long periods was difficult.
"Keith would be coming home on a high after playing to maybe 18,000 people," she says. "And I'd be at home with the baby and maybe ask him to do something like stack the dishwasher and he'd look at me as if to say 'I'm back to this'. I'd to explain that this was real life."
Today, when not passing verdict on the 'stars' on RTE's talent show, Keith Duffy is launching charity events to raise money for the IAA. At the moment there are 12 schools providing ABA in Ireland teaching 300 children and there are at least another 300 youngsters on the schools' waiting lists.
Keith admits he finds it hard to comprehend why the state continues in the public, painful, drawn-out and expensive battles over autistic children and their rights to receive what is deemed "appropriate education".
"My daughter is in a mainstream setting and it's more than we ever hoped or dreamed of. But there are parents who are listening to my story who know this form of education is out there and they can't avail of it because there are waiting lists the length of both my arms for every one of these schools," he argues, clearly agitated.
He says that he doesn't want to get angry, but he's frustrated with a Board of Education that he claims isn't listening to the people who are best in the situation to advise them, the parents of children with autism.
Lisa admits that Keith has a more positive attitude to the situation than she does.
"I would be angry," she says. "I'd be angry that a child is losing out on an opportunity to fulfil their potential."
But sadly, Keith also thinks that until those making decisions are directly affected, the situation might not change.
"It's going to take one of the Board of Education members or one of the High Court judges to have a child or a grandchild with autism before they realise that this system of ABA can help a child with autism.
"It's the difference between being institutionalised and holding down a job in the bank," he points out.
The next few months are going to be extremely busy for the family. Boyzone are touring, something he admits he's excited about -- he's lost two stone since November getting in shape for his fans.
But more importantly, Mia, whom Lisa describes as the "happiest child in the world" will be making her First Communion in May. It's an achievement her parents attribute to getting the appropriate education at the right time, something they want for all autistic children.
BTkids joins forces with Keith to present Time to Shine, a family day at The Four Season's, Mother's Day, Sunday, March 2, dedicated to raising much-needed funds for Irish Autism Action.
Star of the Day - from early 2008
http://www.rteguide.ie/2008/0316/staroftheday.html
It was raining hard. Blinded by the downpour and his tears, Keith Duffy could barely see the road ahead. It was then he rang his older brother. He thinks that curious now -after all they're chalk and cheese - but it was an almost instinctive decision. "Derek's a rock of sense and knows me through and through and he talked me home." There Keith broke the news about their daughter, Mia, to his wife Lisa. "She was so shocked that she hit out at me. And that is when our white-knuckle rollercoaster ride started."
The story of Keith Duffy is well documented. He is the former Boyzone star who reinvented himself on TV through acting roles in Coronation Street and The Clinic. He is also an empathetic judge on You're A Star and a salt-of-the-earth Dub. Sure, there have been some dodgy career moves - what was The Box all about? - but he remains perhaps the best loved of the boyz, an affection tempered by his own family story.
Keith and Lisa are parents to Jordan (nearly 11) and Mia (eight this week). In recent years they have worked tirelessly in raising awareness and funding (nearly €4 million to date) for Irish Autism Action (IAA). This charity is particularly dear to them as their daughter Mia lives with the condition. Last year, Mia went back into mainstream education - a "miracle" that was achieved through Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA), a special individualised programme in which major goals are broken down into achievable smaller ones. Even so, it has been a see-saw, seven years or so.
Recently on Morning Ireland Duffy expressed his frustration with the Government's policy on autism. Since then his attitude has softened. "They are listening to us now," he says. "What we want is: if a psychologist is assessing a child, whatever type of schooling the psychologist - whether independent or state - prescribes for that particular child, we just want that education (whether ABA or something else) to be available to that child. In other words, recognising that each individual child has specific needs. Our schools are ABA ones but we are not blinkered to other forms of education that will help the children. We are not setting the Government up for a fall. We are just parents of autistic children who want the best for our kids."
Mia Duffy was diagnosed with moderate autism at eighteen months. For some time beforehand Keith had his suspicions. At times it seemed as if Mia was deaf. Other times she would put her blanket over her head when she ventured outdoors. "I knew there was something wrong, but I didn't know what it was," says Keith. "Then a mate of mine asked me to support a charity."Coincidentally, that charity was autism. Duffy quizzed his friend. The more he asked, the more he recognised Mia's condition. "My friend's wife spoke with me for an hour or so and at the end of that I knew that Mia was autistic. I began to get upset but my big worry was telling Lisa. Afterwards as I drove home I cried like I hadn't cried in years. That was the worst ever day of my life."
It took Lisa a while to come to terms with Mia's autism. She had already tentatively mapped out her daughter's future. The schools she would go to. The friends she would hang out with. The life she would live. "I felt utterly cheated and I was very angry," she says. "I had this beautiful boy and then I had this beautiful girl and I felt that this cannot be happening to us. So I went into denial. I didn't go out, home became my safe place. It took me eight months to get the fight in me. I realised then that the only way to move forward was to not be selfish about what I thought I wanted for Mia. I realised that I have this beautiful, happy, easy-going and fun-loving child. And I'm very lucky, because Mia and I have a great relationship."
When we meet, Duffy's left hand is still swollen and stitched, after an accident in the gym when he dropped a dumb-bell on it. "Shit happens, man," he says and shrugs. He has been in worse places. He's in training for the Boyzone reunion (there is a strong possibility that he might have to rip off his shirt at some stage this summer) and it's paying off. Since November he has shed over two stone in weight. "I always struggled with my weight because for a long time I liked the good life, partying and drinking," he says. "But now I feel like a new man."
Looking good is important to Duffy. Not just because of his profession - it also stokes his confidence. There was a time when that was at a low ebb. "With Boyzone you were put up on a stage where people ridiculed you and you were in constant competition with four of your mates," he says. "I knew what my weak points were and did not let them get the better of me. I'm not insecure any more. I could walk into a room now and not be unnerved at all. The band was great fun but Lisa was the reality in my life."
Lisa and Keith Duffy will be ten years married this June. They have known each other for more than fifteen years (she is four years older than him). She still remembers the first time he told her about his showbiz ambitions. "He used to call into the shop where I was working. One day he told me that he was going for an audition for a boy band and I said, 'you must be joking'. But Keith was always someone who looked at the positive side of things. We have been though good times and bad times but each time we have got though it. I'm probably more in love with Keith now than I ever was."
For Keith, Boyzone was always unfinished business. "Boyzone is something that I need to do right now because we never broke up," he says. "There was no resolution. We need to do another tour, release some more music, give the fans what they want, reminisce on the great times that we had and remember them. It's also about the excitement and the adrenalin rush of going back on stage. The chants of 'Boyzone!, Boyzone!' To experience all that again with the lads will be awesome."
After the break-up his world wobbled on its axis. "It was hard for Keith when it ended," says Lisa. "It was hard for him to be an individual again: to work for himself and get back to reality." Ronan Keating - who was pursuing a solo career - was seen as the one who pulled the pin on the band. In the immediate aftermath, Duffy found it difficult to forgive or forget. But that is all water under the bridge now. "I did have to sit down and think about it," he says of the reunion. "It has been coming about eighteen months when we had the initial meetings. I said that I would certainly do it, but I would not be the one to push it forward."
Duffy - on screen and in person - is a straight-up, no-nonsense kind of guy. Likeable, too. His ultimate ambition, after the Boyzone business is wrapped, is to be a full-time actor. Despite no formal training he believes that he can succeed: it's all about raising the bar each time. Game shows. Reality TV. Then, bingo, a three year stint on Coronation Street ("the best apprenticeship ever") where, after a ropey start, he rapidly learnt the ropes. His performance in RTÉ drama, The Clinic, was he believes, his best to date.
Then, on the back of his work in the play, Dandelions, he was offered a major role in a UK touring production of Sleuth last year. He turned it down as he had already committed to Boyzone. "Something similar will pop up again," he reasons. In any case there's always the possibility of a return to The Rovers. "The doors are still open in Corrie for me to go back," he says. "I might do that if the right opportunity arises."
After the Guide photo-shoot father and son race each other across the RTÉ campus. "I was only 21 when Jay was born so he's like me mate as well as my son," says Keith. "He's a big Manchester United fan and so am I." Lisa ambles along with her daughter. In May, Mia will celebrate her First Communion. It is a significant landmark and one at which the Duffy family will pop the champagne and the fizzy lemonade. After all, the dark times were not that long ago. "I remember one day, not long after Mia was diagnosed, driving past a church," says Lisa. "There was a load of little girls coming out after making their communion. I just burst out crying and Keith asked me why. I said: 'Is Mia ever going to maker her Holy Communion?' 'Of course she is,' he said. 'You just have to take this day by day'."
It was raining hard. Blinded by the downpour and his tears, Keith Duffy could barely see the road ahead. It was then he rang his older brother. He thinks that curious now -after all they're chalk and cheese - but it was an almost instinctive decision. "Derek's a rock of sense and knows me through and through and he talked me home." There Keith broke the news about their daughter, Mia, to his wife Lisa. "She was so shocked that she hit out at me. And that is when our white-knuckle rollercoaster ride started."
The story of Keith Duffy is well documented. He is the former Boyzone star who reinvented himself on TV through acting roles in Coronation Street and The Clinic. He is also an empathetic judge on You're A Star and a salt-of-the-earth Dub. Sure, there have been some dodgy career moves - what was The Box all about? - but he remains perhaps the best loved of the boyz, an affection tempered by his own family story.
Keith and Lisa are parents to Jordan (nearly 11) and Mia (eight this week). In recent years they have worked tirelessly in raising awareness and funding (nearly €4 million to date) for Irish Autism Action (IAA). This charity is particularly dear to them as their daughter Mia lives with the condition. Last year, Mia went back into mainstream education - a "miracle" that was achieved through Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA), a special individualised programme in which major goals are broken down into achievable smaller ones. Even so, it has been a see-saw, seven years or so.
Recently on Morning Ireland Duffy expressed his frustration with the Government's policy on autism. Since then his attitude has softened. "They are listening to us now," he says. "What we want is: if a psychologist is assessing a child, whatever type of schooling the psychologist - whether independent or state - prescribes for that particular child, we just want that education (whether ABA or something else) to be available to that child. In other words, recognising that each individual child has specific needs. Our schools are ABA ones but we are not blinkered to other forms of education that will help the children. We are not setting the Government up for a fall. We are just parents of autistic children who want the best for our kids."
Mia Duffy was diagnosed with moderate autism at eighteen months. For some time beforehand Keith had his suspicions. At times it seemed as if Mia was deaf. Other times she would put her blanket over her head when she ventured outdoors. "I knew there was something wrong, but I didn't know what it was," says Keith. "Then a mate of mine asked me to support a charity."Coincidentally, that charity was autism. Duffy quizzed his friend. The more he asked, the more he recognised Mia's condition. "My friend's wife spoke with me for an hour or so and at the end of that I knew that Mia was autistic. I began to get upset but my big worry was telling Lisa. Afterwards as I drove home I cried like I hadn't cried in years. That was the worst ever day of my life."
It took Lisa a while to come to terms with Mia's autism. She had already tentatively mapped out her daughter's future. The schools she would go to. The friends she would hang out with. The life she would live. "I felt utterly cheated and I was very angry," she says. "I had this beautiful boy and then I had this beautiful girl and I felt that this cannot be happening to us. So I went into denial. I didn't go out, home became my safe place. It took me eight months to get the fight in me. I realised then that the only way to move forward was to not be selfish about what I thought I wanted for Mia. I realised that I have this beautiful, happy, easy-going and fun-loving child. And I'm very lucky, because Mia and I have a great relationship."
When we meet, Duffy's left hand is still swollen and stitched, after an accident in the gym when he dropped a dumb-bell on it. "Shit happens, man," he says and shrugs. He has been in worse places. He's in training for the Boyzone reunion (there is a strong possibility that he might have to rip off his shirt at some stage this summer) and it's paying off. Since November he has shed over two stone in weight. "I always struggled with my weight because for a long time I liked the good life, partying and drinking," he says. "But now I feel like a new man."
Looking good is important to Duffy. Not just because of his profession - it also stokes his confidence. There was a time when that was at a low ebb. "With Boyzone you were put up on a stage where people ridiculed you and you were in constant competition with four of your mates," he says. "I knew what my weak points were and did not let them get the better of me. I'm not insecure any more. I could walk into a room now and not be unnerved at all. The band was great fun but Lisa was the reality in my life."
Lisa and Keith Duffy will be ten years married this June. They have known each other for more than fifteen years (she is four years older than him). She still remembers the first time he told her about his showbiz ambitions. "He used to call into the shop where I was working. One day he told me that he was going for an audition for a boy band and I said, 'you must be joking'. But Keith was always someone who looked at the positive side of things. We have been though good times and bad times but each time we have got though it. I'm probably more in love with Keith now than I ever was."
For Keith, Boyzone was always unfinished business. "Boyzone is something that I need to do right now because we never broke up," he says. "There was no resolution. We need to do another tour, release some more music, give the fans what they want, reminisce on the great times that we had and remember them. It's also about the excitement and the adrenalin rush of going back on stage. The chants of 'Boyzone!, Boyzone!' To experience all that again with the lads will be awesome."
After the break-up his world wobbled on its axis. "It was hard for Keith when it ended," says Lisa. "It was hard for him to be an individual again: to work for himself and get back to reality." Ronan Keating - who was pursuing a solo career - was seen as the one who pulled the pin on the band. In the immediate aftermath, Duffy found it difficult to forgive or forget. But that is all water under the bridge now. "I did have to sit down and think about it," he says of the reunion. "It has been coming about eighteen months when we had the initial meetings. I said that I would certainly do it, but I would not be the one to push it forward."
Duffy - on screen and in person - is a straight-up, no-nonsense kind of guy. Likeable, too. His ultimate ambition, after the Boyzone business is wrapped, is to be a full-time actor. Despite no formal training he believes that he can succeed: it's all about raising the bar each time. Game shows. Reality TV. Then, bingo, a three year stint on Coronation Street ("the best apprenticeship ever") where, after a ropey start, he rapidly learnt the ropes. His performance in RTÉ drama, The Clinic, was he believes, his best to date.
Then, on the back of his work in the play, Dandelions, he was offered a major role in a UK touring production of Sleuth last year. He turned it down as he had already committed to Boyzone. "Something similar will pop up again," he reasons. In any case there's always the possibility of a return to The Rovers. "The doors are still open in Corrie for me to go back," he says. "I might do that if the right opportunity arises."
After the Guide photo-shoot father and son race each other across the RTÉ campus. "I was only 21 when Jay was born so he's like me mate as well as my son," says Keith. "He's a big Manchester United fan and so am I." Lisa ambles along with her daughter. In May, Mia will celebrate her First Communion. It is a significant landmark and one at which the Duffy family will pop the champagne and the fizzy lemonade. After all, the dark times were not that long ago. "I remember one day, not long after Mia was diagnosed, driving past a church," says Lisa. "There was a load of little girls coming out after making their communion. I just burst out crying and Keith asked me why. I said: 'Is Mia ever going to maker her Holy Communion?' 'Of course she is,' he said. 'You just have to take this day by day'."
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