Duffy's Circus comes to town
The award-winning Duffy's Circus is in Cavan Town this week with shows daily from Wednesday to Sunday.
In early January the Duffy Brothers (Tom and Jamie) were at the famous Weihnachts Circus Grand Prix in Hanover where Tom and Jamie won a prestigious gold award for their stomach churning ‘wheel of death’ act which during the touring season is part of the family show.
The Hanover extravaganza attracts the crème de la crème of circus acts from all over Europe and for two young performers from Ireland to win the top prize is a huge achievement and demonstrates the innate talent they have. The boys are the first Irish artists in history to bring back a gold award to Ireland.
Tom and Jamie say that they have ‘Circus in their blood’ and couldn’t imagine doing anything else, despite the hardwork and long hours. ‘If you didn’t love it you wouldn’t do it’ says Tom.
Tom and Jamie Duffy are quite literally a whirlwind duo. Complete concentration, balance, absolute trust in each other and a fearless mentality combine to produce a heart-stopping performance on the Wheel of Death. As the huge wheel revolves getting faster and faster the brothers run, jump and skip as the lights blur. There are screams and many members of the audience can only watch through their fingers. Jamie is one of only a handful of people in the world to perform a forward somersault on the outside of the wheel. These Irish boys are now a class act in their own right.
As well as Tom and Jamie the Circus also includes a full international programme -
The Kenya Boys are making a welcome return to Ireland, with their astonishing acrobatics, twisting and tumbling, and startling human pyramids while lovers of traditionalcircus acts will roar with laughter at the antics of the hilarious clowns, David and Raffy from Mexico.
As always, the animal acts are the main draw for regular visitors. Loveable giants, the St Bernard dogs, tend to dominate the ring but it’s the cheeky miniature poodles that raise a smile with their mischief.
The Duo Teelker are a truly international couple from Holland and Portugal. They demonstrate power, agility and amazing technique high in the Big Top on the aerial cradle. The audience holds its breath as strength blends seamlessly with the fascinating lightness of flight. Effective drops, twists and turns culminate in an amazing whirlwind helicopter spin.
Prepare yourself for a white-knuckle ride as Team Pavlov rev up their supercharged motorcycles. The noise of the engines increases and that deafening roaring sound is right in front of you. Four young Brazillian daredevils enter the huge steel globe one by one. They begin to circle the inside of the globe, crisscrossing each other, making dizzying rotations as they defy gravity. Skimming past each other it is difficult to tell whether they are upside down or sideways. Once they have started they can't stop or their bikes would fall on top of them. How do they not collide. It is danger it is excitement!
Tom Duffy’s Circus visits Cavan from Wednesday to Sunday, April 5-9.