Death notice, Dominion Post, Wellington, 18 December 2012:

Duggan, Rev Fr George Henry SM.
Peacefully at the Home of Compassion Silverstream on Sunday December 16 2012.
Loved son of the late George and Teresa Duggan. Brother of the late Rev Fr Chris Duggan SM and the late Moira (Morrison). Loved and respected member of the Marist Community at Marian Court, 1 Perry Street, Silverstream.
In his 101st Year.
R.I.P.
The Requiem Mass will be celebrated at St Mary of the Angels, Boulcott Street, Wellington on Thursday December 20, 2012 at 10:00am thereafter interment at the Makara Cemetery.
A Vigil Service will be held in the Chapel of the Home of Compassion, Silverstream on Wednesday evening at 7:00pm.

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Long-serving priest dies at 100, Dominion Post, Wellington, 17 December 2012, https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8089905/Long-serving-priest-dies-at-100, accessed on 20 August 2026:

Long-serving Marist priest George "Chalky" Duggan, once described as "chief among the divine publicists" by a Wellington journalist, has died in Upper Hutt, aged 100.

He died at St Joseph's Home of Compassion yesterday, where an official blessing from Pope Benedict had been conferred upon him on his 100th birthday earlier this year.

Duggan was a lecturer based on the hill overlooking the Mission Vineyard for many years at Mount St Mary's, Greenmeadows, in Hawke's Bay.

He was also a regular contributor to letters to the editor pages of numerous publications throughout New Zealand and abroad.

A West Coaster, Fr Duggan, SM, was ordained in 1936 in Rome on the feast of St Thomas Aquinas, whose work he studied.

His nickname "Chalky" originated from a boxer named Chalky Duggan.

Duggan was born in Runanga near Greymouth and was educated by the Mercy Sisters and Marist Brothers in Greymouth and Reefton.

His secondary education was at St Bede's College, Christchurch, where he was dux in both 1927 and 1928.

He won a University National Scholarship in 1928 - the first St Bede's student to do so.

A spokeswoman for the Catholic Church said his colourful and non-compromising denunciation of what he considered to be aberrant or erroneous theology and doctrine meant that he was often engaged in feisty exchanges of view in letters to the editor columns of numerous publications.

Those who knew him personally however knew a very different man from his public persona.

He was a keen sportsman, a counsellor and a man skilled in the domestic arts of cooking and preserving, the church spokeswoman said.

In recent years, he became increasingly frail, and lived in the care of the Silverstream Home of Compassion, supported by his Marist confreres at the neighbouring Marian Court.

Despite impaired hearing, he enjoyed visitors and conversation and happily recounted stories of his many and wide experiences.

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Fr George Duggan sm, by Fr Brian O’Connell sm, https://www.maristmessenger.co.nz/2013/03/01/fr-george-duggan-sm/, accessed on 20 August 2026:

In the July 2012 Marist Messenger there was a tribute to Fr George Duggan who had just reached his 100 years. The senior Marist was well enough to enjoy his birthday but not to survive the year. He died just before Christmas.

The sheer numbers associated with his life speak volumes - 100 years old, 76 years a priest, 81 years a professed religious. Great achievement and long fidelity. He bore the weight of years and increasing frailty with stoic gentleness.

At his Vigil prayers Fr George's wish for "just the rosary, no eulogies" was honoured, although the celebrant did invite anyone who wanted to speak, but no one was game to walk past the open coffin to the lectern. One short tribute from the floor was shared on behalf of Fr. Brian Quin sm whose care of Fr George in his failing years was inspiring: "In a time when relativism dominated public discussion, George Duggan, like St Paul, firmly believed that absolute truth existed and could be discovered."

George Duggan was gifted with a superior intellect which shone through from his early schooling. He was best known in his priestly life for using his gifts of mind and word to defend the Church from attacks from outside and within.

More than that, he got involved in the 'public square'. Through thousands of letters to the editor he made strongly reasoned cases for a whole range of issues of politics, public policy and morality. He did not claim expertise in many fields but waded in where many feared to tread.

As I listened to the tributes to Fr George stressing his wise pastoral care of his students and directees, and his fierce defence of the magisterium, I felt there was a disconnect between these two aspects of this remarkable scholar priest. I still find it hard to accept that this wise compassionate priest could write such fierce things about other members of the Church. Perhaps it is part of the mystery of genius.

From the Eulogy by Fr Mervyn Duffy sm
Fr Duggan always kept in touch with what was happening in the Church in New Zealand and throughout the world. He read voraciously, and was able to recall virtually everything he read. Many people read, only a few actually step up into the public domain and engage in the debates there. G.H. Duggan SM contributed through lectures, books, pamphlets, articles and letters. His letters to the editor became famous in New Zealand. The Listener and The Dominion were his main outlets, but you will find his words in English-language magazines throughout the world. He was always a staunch defender of the Church and of truth. He condemned error in devastating style.

Those who knew only the public persona were often surprised by the shy, gentle man behind it. His private style was quite different from the polemic in the media.

He acted as a spiritual director for many people over the years, maintaining the relationship through letters. These correspondences, some of more than forty-years duration, have been treasured by the recipients. They describe him as "non-judgemental, charitable and conciliating in all circumstances."

George Duggan taught seminarians, formed priests and university students, educated the public, put the Church's case in the public sphere, was a great confessor and spiritual director, philosopher and theologian, priest and religious.

I'll give him the last word – he wrote this in 1950:
God is Truth Itself, the Sovereign and First Truth: He is the unchanging Reality, Who ever was and ever will be. [...] God abides and is the never-failing source of heavenly joy to them that trust in Him. (Marist Messenger, 1 August 1950, 20)