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Duffily Bag Emily Duffy Duffily Bag Emily Duffy

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Emily Duffy shares the Duffily Bag with the world and tackles a large issue with homelessness

Published

8 years ago

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Duffily Bag has become one of the newest inventions on the block however the thought process behind it is absolutely amazing! The Knockaderry native from Desmond College, Emily Duffy created the Duffily bag which is a sleeping bag that helps the homeless, has now gone global.

Emily entered the BT Young Scientist competition in 2015 with this incredible invention however having been noticed by numerous companies Emily’s invention is being put to good use on the streets of Dublin. Emily’s original idea was to devise a sleeping bag that would be waterproof, fire-proof, very-well insulated, lightweight and cheap to manufacture. And her initial aim was to come up with a practical response to an aspect of homelessness. Emily want the bag to be used in emergency or disaster zones around the world and in Ireland.

If you’re wondering what exactly is so special about this sleeping bag here you go, it’s made out of metallic fireproof bubblewrap which provides a waterproof layer for people sleeping on rain-soaked streets. Reflective strips would improve visibility, and velcro fastenings meant the user could enter and exit the bag easily.

The Duffily Bag has various versions that are being distributed to people using the Merchant’s Quay Night Café service on the city’s quays. The Duffily Bags are also being used by some people who choose to bed down in streets and parks rather than access any of the emergency accommodation centres.


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Charles Richards of the Mendicity Institution approached Emily and, following a number of modifications to her prototype, a programme began to manufacture the special bags in a workshop in Dublin, staffed by people who had experienced homelessness. The organisation has also had enquiries about the sleeping bag from as far away as the US and Australia and have sent instructions to other organisations abroad.

When asked Emily had this to say about her huge success as a young entraponeur and female business woman, “They’re great there – they’re doing a great job, and when I went up there recently to view the latest version of it, it was unbelievable.”

Emily Duffy is definitely one to watch for the years ahead as her ideas take center stage on a global platform!

You can follow Emily and the Duffily Bag on Facebook
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Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.