Fr David Strong SJ, The Australian dictionary of Jesuit biography 1848-2015, Second Edition, 2017:
McCarthy, Robert

Teacher; born Sydney, 9 June 1889; died Richmond, Victoria, 14 November 1953, aged 64.

Robert McCarthy's father was a prosperous pharmacist, and Robert was educated at Riverview, 1904-7. His father strongly opposed his joining the Society in 1908 as he wished. Three years later Robert fell dangerously ill and was pronounced to be dying. He was given the vows of the Society on his deathbed, and then recovered.

Later, he entered the Society at Tullamore, 11 October 1911, and did a brilliant mathematics and science course at the University of Dublin, 1913-18, completing a MSc degree with first class honours. Philosophy studies were at Jersey, theology at Milltown Park, 1920-24, and tertianship at Tronchiennes.

McCarthy returned to Riverview to teach from 1925-27, was assistant editor of Our Alma Mater, and assisted Pigot in the observatory. The two men were temperamentally incompatible, McCarthy being a loud-voiced, almost boisterous man, boiling over with nervous energy. This helped him to be a very effective teacher, especially of mathematics and physics, but he could not work with Pigot. However, he did get on well with almost everyone else.

He taught at St Patrick's College, 1927-30, and Xavier College, 1930-49. His final work was in the parish of Richmond, 1950-53, where he worked especially with the poor and was chaplain to the local branch of the St Vincent de Paul Society.

As a retreat giver and spiritual director, McCarthy was said to be especially good with girls, and this gave rise to some unkind remarks by the sort of people who would argue to the death against the ordination of women. However, he is chiefly remembered as a vigorous and successful teacher of boys. He suffered from heart disease for about 15 years, but that did not prevent him from working hard.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr David Strong SJ.)