Fr Thomas Daly

Early life

Thomas Francis Daly was born in Kilkenny, Ireland on April 10, 1910. His early education was received from the Christian Brothers College in Kilkenny, and then in the lay side of St Kiernan’s Kilkenny. From there he began his ecclesiastical studies at the same College. He was ordained to the priesthood in St Mary’s Cathedral in Kilkenny on June 10, 1934. 

First appointments in the Adelaide Archdiocese

Fr Daly arrived in Adelaide on November 14 that same year and was immediately appointed assistant priest at Hamley Bridge, where he remained for three months, becoming acclimatised to life in Australia. He recounted that on the train to Hamley Bridge, wearing a Roman collar, he was asked by a fellow traveller what he was. It was a startling revelation to Tom that the plural religious Australian culture was vastly different from Ireland’s and that any layperson should have to pose such a question.

On February 1, the next year he was appointed assistant priest at Mt Gambier, where life was somewhat different from Hamley Bridge. After five years there he was appointed priest-in-charge of the parish of Bordertown on June 7, 1941, but under the guidance and jurisdiction of the parish priest of Naracoorte.  Three years later he was brought back to the city and appointed an assistant at the Cathedral parish, with special care for St Patrick’s Church and the west end of the city.

Years of major ministry

On August 4, 1946 Fr Daly was appointed parish priest of Croydon where he remained for 12 years. The parish of Croydon in the 1950s stretched from the Port Adelaide railway line to Grand Junction Road and from the railway line to Pt Pirie to Hanson Road and Woodville Road.  

In the post-war era hundreds of temporary houses were built at Dudley Park and Mansfield Park. Migrants from Italy and Poland were settling in these areas. The churches at Croydon and Woodville Gardens – St Margaret Mary’s and St Philomena’s, respectively—were pre-fab buildings. Fr Daly was committed to a daily routine of house to house visitation. The parish census, with appropriate annotations in Gaelic, was meticulously kept.

At the beginning of 1949 he took extended leave for a visit to Ireland and again in 1956 he was away for 10 months, again visiting Ireland. While at Croydon he was appointed a judge of the Matrimonial Court. In those struggling years, a presbytery in Tungara Avenue was built and St Philomena’s School at Woodville Gardens was opened. It was at the opening of the new classroom block at St Margaret Mary’s school in 1958 that Fr Daly announced that he was moving to Gawler. It was a moment of great sadness for the assembled parishioners. He remained at Gawler for more than 10 years. 

In July 1964 he again took leave for a visit to Ireland, this time he was away for 12 months. In May 1967 he was elected a member of the Priests Senate; this was a three year appointment.

On February 1, 1969 Fr Daly was appointed parish priest of Riverton. In January 1975 Riverton was amalgamated with Manoora and he continued as parish priest of the expanded parish. In 1972 he again took 12 months leave to visit Ireland, and another six months in 1978. 

Retirement, death and requiems

On June 6, 1981, he retired with the title of Pastor Emeritus. His initial plan was to return to Ireland permanently. He was there for only a short time when he discovered that it was not the Ireland he had left in 1934. He sought permission to return to Adelaide. There, though retired, he continued to do some pastoral work, living at Archbishop’s House on West Terrace, assisting in pastoral activities in the Cathedral parish and sometimes supply in parishes on weekends.

In May 1985 he decided to visit the homeland once again. However, after leaving Adelaide in seemingly good health, on his arrival at Dublin Airport and while he was waiting to collect his luggage, Thomas Daly suddenly collapsed and died in his native land. His death occurred on May 25.  Requiem Mass was offered for him in Dublin on May 27. His Funeral Mass was held in St John’s Church at Kilkenny the next day and he was buried in the local cemetery.

Back in Adelaide, a Requiem Mass was celebrated in St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral on June 5. In his eulogy Archbishop James Gleeson described Fr Daly as a man of deep faith, one who was totally committed to being an authentic preacher and teacher of the faith. He was noted for his persevering fidelity and for being a man of prayer. The Archbishop observed that he was also a man with a dry sense of humour, but also a priest who had a great love for Mary, the mother of Christ. He said: “The Church has been richer because of Fr Tom Daly and we should remain united with him in the Communion of Saints.”  

May he rest in peace.