Early Life
Dukes was born in Drimnagh in 1945. His father, James F. Dukes, was originally from Tralee, County Kerry and was a senior civil servant, the founding Chairman and Chief Executive of the Higher Education Authority, while his mother was from near Ballina, County Mayo.
The Dukes family originally came from the north of England. His grandfather had served with the Royal Engineers in World War I, and settled in Cork and then Kerry afterwards where he worked with the Post Office creating Ireland's telephone network. He also developed a keen interest in the Irish language, which is something shared by his grandson.
He was educated by the Christian Brothers at Colaiste Mhuire, Parnell Square and was offered a number of scholarships for third level on graduation, including one for the Irish language. His interest in the Irish language continues to this day, and he regularly appears on Irish language television programmes.
On leaving school, he attended University College Dublin where he captained the fencing team to its first ever Intervarsity title.
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