Lindy Dufferin: A ‘terrific party girl’ who never let hearing loss stand in her way

News Letter features editor Helen McGurk shares her memories of meeting Lady Dufferin:
Lady Dufferin's big passion was painting. She immediately dispelled the image of the venerable artist shut away in a garret, disengaged from the world. Picture taken in 2009 by Darren Kidd/Presseye.comLady Dufferin's big passion was painting. She immediately dispelled the image of the venerable artist shut away in a garret, disengaged from the world. Picture taken in 2009 by Darren Kidd/Presseye.com
Lady Dufferin's big passion was painting. She immediately dispelled the image of the venerable artist shut away in a garret, disengaged from the world. Picture taken in 2009 by Darren Kidd/Presseye.com

(Scroll down for another tribute to her from a music-loving doctor; also for a link to an interview about the late marchioness)

I first met Lady Dufferin some years ago, around the time Clandeboye Estate launched its eponymously named yoghurt - produced courtesy of the estate’s award-winning bovine beauties, a herd of Holstein and Jersey cows.

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At that time I was impressed by her seemingly boundless energy, zest for life and charisma (keep scrolling for more on this story).

The late Lady Dufferin seen some years ago with a young competitor at Camerata Ireland at Clandeboye estate, with regular Camerata goers Prof Sidney Lowry and his wife Dr Barbara Lowry, who both died this yearThe late Lady Dufferin seen some years ago with a young competitor at Camerata Ireland at Clandeboye estate, with regular Camerata goers Prof Sidney Lowry and his wife Dr Barbara Lowry, who both died this year
The late Lady Dufferin seen some years ago with a young competitor at Camerata Ireland at Clandeboye estate, with regular Camerata goers Prof Sidney Lowry and his wife Dr Barbara Lowry, who both died this year

I met her once again in 2016, when she was aged 75, but certainly hadn’t slowed down; in fact, if anything, she was even more sprightly, flitting between her home in London and Clandeboye Estate, throwing parties, gardening and indulging her biggest passion of all — painting.

Lady Dufferin immediately dispelled the image of the venerable artist shut away in a garret, disengaged from the world. She was exceptionally sociable. When we met all those years ago, she described herself as a “terrific party girl”, never allowing her lack of hearing hold her back.

She told me: “I love parties. I go to hundreds of parties and no one can understand how I can hear, but I lip read so well.

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“Everybody else is getting older and deafer, so I’m having a ball and everybody else can’t hear a thing.”

Lindy and the Namibian. Lindy Dufferin (the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava) had just drawn this man's portrait under the shade of a colossal baobab - possibly the largest in southern Africa. In a wild corner of Namibia close to the border with Angola. February 8 2007. Sent in by Harry Mount August 2022. Picture credit to Thomas PakenhamLindy and the Namibian. Lindy Dufferin (the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava) had just drawn this man's portrait under the shade of a colossal baobab - possibly the largest in southern Africa. In a wild corner of Namibia close to the border with Angola. February 8 2007. Sent in by Harry Mount August 2022. Picture credit to Thomas Pakenham
Lindy and the Namibian. Lindy Dufferin (the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava) had just drawn this man's portrait under the shade of a colossal baobab - possibly the largest in southern Africa. In a wild corner of Namibia close to the border with Angola. February 8 2007. Sent in by Harry Mount August 2022. Picture credit to Thomas Pakenham

Lady Dufferin started to lose her hearing in her 40s.

She said: “We think it was a virus. I mean, I’ve been seriously deaf since about 48.”

But as was typical of this upbeat character, she was sanguine about her hearing loss.

“It’s changed my life being deaf. I’m not unhappy about it, I’ve just had to change it.

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“It forces me to go to the studio and I have to paint, I mean I could actually read, but I prefer painting because it’s physically heaven using all these different colours and things, so I paint, I paint and I listen.

“If I could hear perfectly I’d be permanently tempted to gossip.

“I’d much prefer to gossip than sit and paint all day long.”

Born Serena Belinda Rosemary Guinness, Lady Dufferin had a mass of curly, unruly hair and very blue mischievous eyes, which stared intently at me as she lip read.

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She preferred not to talk about her early years, saying only: “I had a very exotic upbringing. I was all over the world.

“It was a complex and thrilling upbringing, but I think we all have complex upbringings in some format. We all have very complicated beginnings - mine just happens to be more glamorous so people want to know about it, but actually it’s no different to anybody else’s.”

• When Lady Dufferin died in late 2020, a regular Camerata concert goer wrote a letter to this newspaper. The author, Dr Sidney Lowry, who once held the chair in medical oncology at Queen’s University in Belfast, died a fortnight ago, six months after his wife, Dr Barbara Lowry. In light of this we reproduce here his tribute to the Marchioness:

Letter to the editor, published on Saturday November 8 2020

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The death of Lady Dufferin was marked by a fine tribute in your newspaper to her ability in many fields (by Harry Mount, October 31, 2020).

Not only was she a gifted visual artist, she was also an enthusiastic supporter of the performing arts.

In her earlier years, if a famous musician was performing in town, he/she would be invited to give a recital at Clandeboye House.

I was often privileged to be present.

Lindy Guinness, as she was known, hosted, Camerata Ireland, the junior Irish chamber Orchestra, in an annual musical Festival at Clandeboye, directed by the distinguished pianist Barry Douglas.

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I recall one occasion when Barry gave a sensational performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition, the piece he played in Moscow to win the Tchaikovsky Prize.

The Clandeboye Festival regularly featured International musicians and lasted a week at the end of August.

It was held in the courtyard and adjoining impressive Banqueting Hall.

Ireland`s talented young musicians were also invited to perform.

Each year an award was made to a promising newcomer.

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Among the many winners who made their debut at Clandeboye were Michael McHale, the pianist, and Eimear McGeown the flautist.

Sadly the festival had to be cancelled this year because of Covid-19.

One hopes whoever succeeds Lady Dufferin at Clandeboye, will enable the festival to resume, in future happier days.

(Professor) Sidney Lowry, Bangor, Co Down

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