Brian D'Arcy CP OBE (born 1 June 1945) is an Irish Passionist priest[1] writer, broadcaster and preacher.

D'Arcy hosts a weekly radio programme each Sunday afternoon on BBC Radio Ulster.[2]

He is the author of several books including A Little Bit of Religion and A Little Bit of Healing.

Early life and education

D'Arcy grew up in the village of Bellanaleck in County Fermanagh.[3] His father Hugh worked at Enniskillen railway station[4] and had been a notable Gaelic Athletic Association footballer in his youth.[5] His primary education was in a local school while his secondary education was in the Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh.[6] Having successfully sat the 11-plus exam, he entered St Michael's College, Enniskillen.[7] He later studied scholastic philosophy at UCD.[8]

In September 1962, at the age of 17, D'Arcy became a novice at the Passionist monastery in Enniskillen.[9] A year later he was transferred to Mount Argus in Dublin.[8] He was ordained a priest in December 1969.[10]

He was sexually abused while a student priest by a fellow Passionist.[11]

Pastoral ministry

In his early years as a priest, D'Arcy took it on himself to become acquainted with the showbusiness community in Dublin, visiting dancehalls seven nights a week and apparently hearing confessions from musicians and fans alike, a role he later described as being like 'an unofficial chaplain'.[12] Such was his fame during this period that he reportedly became the inspiration for Dermot Morgan's character, Father Trendy.[13]

D'Arcy has publicly opposed the existing disciplinary norms regarding clerical celibacy and has sought the possibility to ordain married priests.[14] D'Arcy was warned in April 2012 that he must now submit his writings and broadcasts to an official censor.[15]

D'Arcy has been a prominent supporter of Seán Quinn (once Ireland's richest billionaire) and his family in their court battles with the Irish state. D'Arcy, entirely consistent with his populist tendencies spoke at a rally in July 2012 in protest against the High Court finding Sean Quinn Jnr and his cousin Peter Darragh Quinn in contempt of court for not complying with its order to produce the €451 million they had moved out of the state while owing it to the state. While Seán Jnr served his prison time, Peter Quinn (who was found in contempt on the basis of evidence including a video-tape of him in the Ukraine detailing the crime) became a fugitive: in 2013 the High Court found Peter Quinn (in absentia) personally liable to repay €145 million of the money he illegally put out of reach of his creditors.[16][17]

D'Arcy was a long-term friend of BBC Radio 2 presenter Terry Wogan, officiating at the weddings of his children. D'Arcy said that Wogan was atheist but spiritual, and that God would admit him to Heaven.[18]

Media career

D'Arcy hosts a weekly radio programme each Sunday afternoon on BBC Radio Ulster.[19]

Since July 1976 he has written the Father Brian's Little Bit of Religion column for the Sunday World.[20]

On 15 April 2007, D'Arcy replaced Canon Roger Royle on the long-standing BBC Radio 2 show Sunday Half Hour.[21] On 23 January 2012, the BBC announced that D'Arcy would step down from this role and that Diane-Louise Jordan would succeed him.[22] He left the show on 29 January 2012.

On 30 December 2021, he joined Tony Blackburn, Alan Dedicoat and Lynn Bowles as one of the contributors talking about radio presenter Terry Wogan on the Channel 5 retrospective programme Wogan: Now You're Talking.[23][24]

Awards

D'Arcy received an honorary degree from the University of Ulster.[25] He accepted an OBE in June 2019

Response to the Murphy Report

After the publication of the Murphy Report, D'Arcy accused the Vatican of hiding behind legal procedures in not dealing with allegations of child abuse within the church.[26] Following the report's publication, he has called for a radical re-formation of the church's structures and resignations of high-ranking figures within the Irish Catholic Church.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "BBC Radio Ulster - Sunday with Brian d'Arcy".
  3. ↑ D'Arcy, Brian, A Different Journey, (Sliabh Bán Productions, 2006, ISBN 0-9545829-5-0) p.17
  4. ↑ A Different Journey, p. 18.
  5. ↑ A Different Journey, p.19
  6. ↑ A Different Journey, p.20
  7. ↑ A Different Journey, p.21
  8. 1 2 A Different Journey, p.38
  9. ↑ A Different Journey, p.27
  10. ↑ A Different Journey, p.46
  11. ↑ "Fr Brian d'Arcy reveals how he conducted funeral Mass for the priest who sexually abused him". Belfasttelegraph.
  12. ↑ A Different Journey, p.55
  13. ↑ "Fr Brian D'Arcy on celebrity, celibacy and the real 'Fr Trendy'". BBC News. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Priest resigns over relationship". News.bbc.co.uk. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Liberal priest censured by Vatican". Independent.ie. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  16. ↑ The Irish Times, 30 July 2012
  17. ↑ "Quinn nephew ordered to pay $188m in damages to IBRC". Irishtimes.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  18. ↑ "Terry Wogan was an atheist but spiritual, says Father Brian D'Arcy". Irish Independent. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "BBC Radio Ulster - Sunday with Brian d'Arcy".
  20. ↑ Link to recent article Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ "BBC - Press Office - Father Brian D'Arcy to present Radio 2's Sunday Half Hour". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  22. ↑ "BBC - Father Brian D'Arcy steps down from Sunday Half Hour - Media Centre". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  23. ↑ "A Celebration of Terry Wogan from Channel 5". 30 December 2021.
  24. ↑ "My5".
  25. ↑ Honorary Degree for Fr Brian D'Arcy Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine University of Ulster, 30 June 2009
  26. ↑ 'I was not in a position to comment. The report was already done', Ronan McGreevy, The Irish Times, 1 December 2009, retrieved 4 December 2009.
  27. ↑ Brian D'Arcy: Senior Church figures should step down Archived 2 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Ireland On-Line News Headlines, 27 November 2009, retrieved 4 December 2009
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