Eric D'Arcy

Joseph Eric D'Arcy (25 April 1924 – 12 December 2005) was the ninth Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, from 1988 to 1999. Immediately prior to his appointment to Hobart, D'Arcy served as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Sale from 1981 to 1988.

Early life and education Joseph Eric D'Arcy was born in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton on 25 April 1924.

He was educated at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish School, Armadale; De La Salle College, Malvern; Corpus Christi College, Werribee; and the University of Melbourne, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with First Class Honours and an Exhibition in Philosophy, and a Master of Arts in Philosophy.

He later pursued doctoral studies in philosophy at the University of Oxford, where he was the first Australian-born philosopher to receive an Oxford doctorate, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Career D'Arcy was ordained as a priest in 1949, and also taught in the philosophy department at University of Melbourne, eventually becoming its head.

He garnered unwanted notoriety in 1955, when a letter undersigned by him was leaked to the press confirming the existence of 'The Movement' (modelled on Catholic Action groups in Europe) within the Australian Labor Party. The resulting furore contributed to the Labor Split.

D'Arcy served as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Sale from 1981 to 1988, becoming the ninth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hobart from 1988 to 1999.

D'Arcy was invited to give the inaugural Newman Lecture at Mannix College, Monash University, Melbourne, in 1981.