Charles Frederick D'Arcy (2 January 1859 – 1 February 1938) was a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. He was the

Bishop of Clogher The Bishop of Clogher (, ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and ...

from 1903 to 1907 when he was translated to become

Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin The Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin was the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Ossory, Ferns, County Wexford, Ferns and Old Leighlin, Leighlin in the Ecclesiastical Province of Province of Dublin (Church of Ire ...

before then becoming the

Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore The Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore; comprising all County Down and County Antrim, including the city of Belfast. History The episcopal sees of Down and Connor ...

. He was then briefly the

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

and finally, from 1920 until his death,

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

. He was also a

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, author and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Early life

Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1859, D'Arcy was the son of John Charles D'Arcy of Mount Tallant,

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, and of Henrietta Anna, a daughter of Thomas Brierly of Rehoboth House, Dublin. He was a grandson of John D'Arcy of Hydepark,

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, and a descendant of The 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, one of the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s who had fought at the

Battle of Crecy A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(1346).Charles Frederick d'Arcy
at belfastcathedral.org'D'ARCY, Most Rev. Charles Frederick', in ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008, online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007 Charles D'Arcy was educated at

The High School, Dublin The High School is a 12–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Church of Ireland, Independent school, independent secondary school in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1870 at Harcourt Street before moving to Rathgar in 1971. It amal ...

, and

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, where he was elected a Scholar in mathematics and won a gold medal in

Moral Philosophy Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...

. He graduated BA in 1882, with a first-class Divinity Testimonium, and MA in 1892. He was later awarded the degrees of

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

, 1898, and

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

, 1900.

Career

D'Arcy was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

and became

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of Saint Thomas's,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, in 1884. He became Rector of

Billy, County Antrim Billy () is a civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously describe ...

, in 1890, and of the united parishes of

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

and Ballyclug in 1893. From 1895 to 1903, he was

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

to the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

, successively The 5th Earl Cadogan and The 2nd Earl of Dudley. In addition, he was

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

of Connor in Lisburn Cathedral, from 1898 to 1900. His next

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...

was as

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Belfast, from 1900 to 1903, and while there he was also appointed Dean of St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, and examining chaplain to Bishop Welland. In 1903, D'Arcy was elected

. In 1907 he was translated to become Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin and in 1911 became

, succeeding

John Baptist Crozier John Baptist Crozier (8 April 1853 – 11 April 1920) was a Church of Ireland bishop. He served as Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin (1897–1907), Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore (1907–1911), Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Arm ...

in both. He corresponded with

Shane Leslie Sir John Randolph Leslie, 3rd Baronet (24 September 1885 – 14 August 1971), commonly known as Sir Shane Leslie, was an Anglo-Irish diplomat and writer. He was a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill. In 1908, Leslie became a Roman Catholic ...

in 1907 about Leslie's decision to convert to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1907 he became a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

and was a Select Preacher at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(1907–1908 and 1925), Hulsean Preacher at Cambridge (1929 to 1930) as well as a Select Preacher at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(1908–1910), the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

(1912) the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

(1923). In August 1919, D'Arcy was appointed

, Bishop of Glendalough and Kildare and

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest Order of precedence, precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that t ...

. Less than a year later, in June 1920, he was elected as

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

, again succeeding Crozier. He was opposed to

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

and in 1912 signed the

Ulster Covenant Ulster's Solemn League and Covenant, commonly known as the Ulster Covenant, was signed by nearly 500,000 people on and before 28 September 1912, in protest against the Third Home Rule Bill introduced by the British Government in the same year. ...

. In 1921 he was appointed a member of the

Senate of Southern Ireland The Senate of Southern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Southern Ireland, established in 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The Act stipulated that there be 64 senators, but only 39 were selected and the Senate met onl ...

, which was abolished with the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

in 1922, but did not attend. He was a lifelong friend of James Craig, Lord Craigavon, the first

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the L ...

, and a member of the

Athenaeum Club, London The Athenaeum is a private members' club in London, founded in 1824. It is primarily a club for men and women with intellectual interests, and particularly (but not exclusively) for those who have attained some distinction in science, engineerin ...

, and the University Club, Dublin. He was also a supporter of the

Eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

movement and chaired the Belfast branch of the

Eugenics Education Society Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the ferti ...

. In 1934 he published his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''The Adventures of a Bishop: a Phase in Irish Life'', and in June 1937 announced that he intended to retire because of poor health. However, in the event, he continued as archbishop until he died on 1 February 1938. He was buried at

St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh There are two St Patrick's Cathedrals in Armagh, Northern Ireland: * St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland), the Anglican cathedral (and the Catholic cathedral prior to the Protestant Reformation) * St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Roma ...

, where there is a memorial to him in the north aisle."Funary Monuments & Memorials in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh" Curl, J.S. pp50-52: Whitstable; Historical Publications; 2013

Marriage and family

In 1889, D'Arcy married Harriet Le Byrtt Lewis, daughter of Richard Lewis of Comrie,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, and they had one son and three daughters. Harriet died of a heart attack during a cruise to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

in the summer of 1932. Of their three daughters, one married

Charles Mulholland, 3rd Baron Dunleath Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, and became Lady Dunleath. Their son, John Conyers D'Arcy,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, fought in both World Wars and ended his career as the Commander of British forces in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...

.D'Arcy of Hyde Park Papers
at nli.ie, the

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

web site (pdf file) In May 1920, D'Arcy gave his son a special licence to marry Noël Patricia Wakefield. Between 1900 and 1903, D'Arcy corresponded with his uncle George James Norman D'Arcy about his uncle's

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

for the

abeyant Abeyance (from the Old French ' meaning "gaping") describes a state of temporary dormancy or suspension. In law, it can refer to a situation where the ownership of property, titles, or office is not currently Vesting, vested in any specific perso ...

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

of Darcy de Knayth. However, in 1903 the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

awarded the title to

Violet Herbert, Countess of Powis Violet Ida Eveline Herbert, Countess of Powis and ''suo jure'' 16th Baroness Darcy de Knayth (1 June 1865 – 29 April 1929) was a Peerage, British peeress in her own right. Early life Violet was born on 1 June 1865 in Wellesbourne, Warwic ...

Honours

*Honorary Doctor of Divinity, University of Oxford *Honorary Doctor of Divinity, Queen's University, Belfast *Honorary Doctor of Divinity, University of Glasgow *Honorary Doctor of Letters, University of Dublin *Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

, 1927

Selected publications

*''A Short Study of Ethics'' (Macmillan, 1895, second edition, 1901) *''Idealism and Theology: a study of presuppositions'' (University of Dublin

Donnellan Lectures The Donnellan Lectures are a lecture series at Trinity College Dublin, instituted in 1794. The lectures were originally given under the auspices of the School of Hebrew, Biblical and Theological Studies. But since 1987 they have been run on a trien ...

for 1897–1898) *''Idealism and theology'' (Hodder, 1899) *''Ruling Ideas of Our Lord'' (Christian Study Manuals Series) (Hodder and Stoughton, 1901, second edition 1902) *'Articles on Consciousness, Leading Ideas, and Trinity', in ''Hastings' Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels'' *''Christianity and the Supernatural'' (Anglican Church Handbooks series) (1909) *''Christian Ethics and Modern Thought'' (Anglican Church Handbooks) (Longmans, Green, 1912) *''What is the Church?'' (Longmans, Green, 1914) *''God and Freedom in Human Experience'' (University of Dublin Donnellan Lectures for 1913–1914) (1915) *''God and the Struggle for Existence'' (Charles F. D'Arcy, B.H. Streeter, and Lily Dougall) (Association Press, New York, 1919) *''Anglican Essays'' (contributor) (1923) *''

Science and Creation Recurring cultural, political, and theological rejection of evolution by religious groups exists regarding the origins of the Earth, of humanity, and of other life. In accordance with creationism, species were once widely believed to be fixed ...

'' (1925) *''The Christian Outlook in the Modern World'' (1929) *''God in Science'' (J. Nisbet, 1930) *''Providence and The World-Order'' (Robertson Lectures, Glasgow University) (Round Table Press, 1932)Charles Frederick D'Arcy
at openlibrary.org *''The Adventures of a Bishop: a Phase in Irish Life'' (Hodder and Stoughton, 1934, autobiography) *''God and the struggle for existence'' (Association Press, 1996)

References

*''Obituary of Charles Frederick D'Arcy (1859 – 1938)'' (in ''Proceedings of the British Academy'', Vol 24; offprint, 19 pages, Oxford University Press, 1938)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Arcy, Charles Frederick 1859 births 1938 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Anglican archbishops of Armagh Anglican archbishops of Dublin Anglican biblical scholars Bishops of Clogher (Church of Ireland) Bishops of Down, Connor and Dromore Bishops of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland) Deans of Belfast Irish biblical scholars Irish unionists Members of the Senate of Southern Ireland People educated at The High School, Dublin Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 20th-century Anglican archbishops Writers about religion and science Irish Anglican archbishops Eugenicists