Brian D'Arcy CP OBE (born 1 June 1945) is an Irish

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

based in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

, Northern Ireland. A writer, newspaper columnist, broadcaster and preacher. He is the author of several books of trite musings 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 Bellanaleck (Flanagan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 182. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It lies just south of Enniskillen on the main A509 ( N3) road towards Cavan and Dubli ...

in County Fermanagh. His father Hugh worked at Enniskillen railway station and had been a notable

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

footballer in his youth. His primary education was in a local school while his secondary education was in the

Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh The Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh (known locally as CBS Omagh, Omagh CBS, or the Brothers) is a boys grammar school in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the largest grammar school in Omagh. It is under the trusteeship of ...

. Having successfully sat the

11-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

exam, he entered St. Michael's College, Enniskillen. He later studied scholastic philosophy at UCD.''A Different Journey'', p.38 In September 1962, at the age of 17, D'Arcy became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

at the Passionist monastery in Enniskillen. A year later he was transferred to Mount Argus in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a priest in December 1969. He was sexually abused while a student priest by a fellow Passionist.

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

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

s from musicians and fans alike, a role he later described as being like 'an unofficial chaplain'. Such was his fame during this period that he reportedly became the inspiration for

Dermot Morgan Dermot John Morgan (31 March 1952 – 28 February 1998) was an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his role as Father Ted Crilly in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted''. Early life Morgan was born in Dublin, the son of Hilda "Holly" (née ...

's character, Father Trendy. D'Arcy has publicly opposed the existing disciplinary norms regarding clerical celibacy and has sought the possibility to ordain married priests. D'Arcy was warned in April 2012 that he must now submit his writings and broadcasts to an official censor. 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. D'Arcy was a long-term friend of BBC Radio 2 presenter

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...

, officiating at the weddings of his children. D'Arcy said that Wogan was atheist but spiritual, and that God would admit him to Heaven.

Media career

D'Arcy hosts a weekly radio programme each Sunday afternoon on

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster ( ga, BBC Raidió Uladh) is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is ...

. Since July 1976 he has written the ''Father Brian's Little Bit of Religion'' column for the '' Sunday World''. On 15 April 2007, D'Arcy replaced Canon Roger Royle on the long-standing BBC Radio 2 show '' Sunday Half Hour''. On 23 January 2012, the BBC announced that D'Arcy would step down from this role and that

Diane-Louise Jordan Diane Johnson (born 28 June 1960), better known by her stage name Diane Louise Jordan, is a British television presenter. She was the first black presenter of the children's television programme ''Blue Peter'', being involved in the programme fro ...

would succeed him. He left the show on 29 January 2012. On 30 December 2021, he joined Tony Blackburn, Alan Dedicote and Lynn Bowles as one of the contributors talking about radio presenter

on the Channel 5 retrospective programme ''Wogan: Now You're Talking''.

Awards

D'Arcy received an honorary degree from the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

. He accepted an OBE in June 2019

Response to the Murphy Report

After the publication of the

Murphy Report The Murphy Report is the brief name of the report of a Commission of investigation conducted by the Irish government into the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin. It was released in 2009 by Judge Yvonne Murphy, only a few ...

, D'Arcy accused the Vatican of hiding behind legal procedures in not dealing with allegations of child abuse within the church. 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.Brian D'Arcy: Senior Church figures should step down
,

Ireland On-Line Ireland On-Line (IOL) is a former ISP in Ireland. Ireland On-line was the first commercial internet service provider in the state. The company was formed in 1992 by Barry Flanagan, and was reported to have launched "Ireland's first mass-market Int ...

News Headlines, 27 November 2009, retrieved 4 December 2009

References

External links

''Sunday with Brian D'Arcy''
(BBC Radio Ulster) {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Arcy, Brian 1945 births BBC Radio 2 presenters Irish columnists 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Living people British radio DJs Radio personalities from Northern Ireland Passionists People from County Fermanagh Christian radicals Roman Catholic dissidents Roman Catholic priests from Northern Ireland People educated at Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh Officers of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century Irish Roman Catholic priests