DAMIEN Duff stunned Irish football on Sunday by abruptly quitting his post as Shelbourne manager.
He had clearly grown increasingly fed up of their struggles this season but his resignation still seemed premature to almost everyone.
After all, only last season he had guided Shels to a a league title when they hadn’t been given a sniff as potential contenders by pundits and supporters alike.
The previous campaign had also seen the newly promoted outfit fare well under his watch as they established themselves in the Premier Division and made it to the FAI Cup final.
But with his high-strung manner and insistence at seemingly being 100 per cent honest in every media appearance, a downturn in results was always going to see things go downhill in rapid fashion.
Here, SunSport delves into the Republic of Ireland legend’s life away from the football pitch:
Who is Damien Duff’s wife and how long have they been married?
Duff has been married to spouse Elaine since 2010. Their wedding took place in Somerset, England.
They live in a secluded part of Wicklow. Ballyboden native Duff often cites how Elaine is a valuable sounding board for him to vent after a match or training session hasn’t gone according to plan.
In a revealing 2024 interview with former Ireland teammate Richie Sadlier he acknowledged she occasionally has to “put him back in his place” when he carries work-related stress into their home.
Speaking on the Second Captains production Episodes, he conceded: “Maybe sometimes I did take it home here and Elaine would have to put me back into my place.”
Expanding on the impact that results on the pitch were having on his home life, Duff recalled a draw with Dundalk early in his tenure.
The 46-year-old explained that his inability to process the result in a healthy manner led to an argument with his wife.
He added: “I won’t go into too much detail, but I remember, it would have been a live game and it was drawn. It was on RTE but it wasn’t a great game. I think the next couple of nights, not a lot of sleep.
“I work more efficiently but back then it was working on not a lot of sleep and you’re driven by anger.
“I remember having a right barney with Elaine and it was probably a turning point in my personal life and professional life that, no, that’s not right.
“Elaine got the brunt. You always take it out on the people you love most. That was a big wake up call for me.”
Asked if he got help, he revealed: “Yeah, I had to. I went and spoke to the doc and I went and spoke to people and doc even noticed.
“When he’d seen me speak or live interviews that I didn’t look right, that I looked really angry. That I wasn’t Damien Duff.
“I like to think I’ve a good heart and believe it or not I’m a softly spoken guy. I know people are probably shocked by that when they see me on the sideline.”
How many children do they have?
Duff generally lives a very private life with no social media presence to glean insights into his home life with Elaine and their two kids, Woody and Darcy.
But we do know that Woody is the eldest of their two children having been born in 2011 while daughter Darcy came along in the years afterwards.
Woody was born with a hole in his heart which led to him having surgery at just six months. Damien has spoken about how the hours in the waiting room of the hospital were the toughest of his life.
Thankfully, the procedure was a complete success and Woody’s life hasn’t been inhibited from it.
In 2014, Damien told The Irish Times: “When they first diagnosed it they said: ‘Well, he mightn’t be a professional footballer but he’ll live a long and healthy life.’
“But when we go back now, the same professor says he’ll be grand, that he can do whatever he wants. So it’s obviously going well.”
He has since regularly supported Children’s Heart Ireland and while coaching at Shamrock Rovers, donated his reported €150,00 salary to the charity as well as Temple Street Hospital.
