Edward Troy (1797-1872), Catholic priest, was born in Ireland in 1797. He died at Torbay on 2 April 1872.
Troy was ordained a priest at Carrick-on-Sur, in the diocese of Waterford and Lismore, Ireland, by Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming. He arrived in St. John's in May 1831 to serve in the Vicariate Apostolic of Newfoundland, at the invitation of Fleming. As an assistant to Fleming he took an active role in the construction of the new Cathedral. He built the first Roman Catholic church at Portugal Cove, which was dedicated in October 1833, and supervised the construction of a second church at Torbay (1834). Rev. Troy was appointed Vicar General on 4 July 1836.
Rev. Troy was perceived as the confident of Fleming and his political activities in St. John's provoked much controversy. In 1834 Rev. Troy attacked Governor Thomas John Cochrane as bigoted through a series of letters published under the name "Junius" in a local newspaper, The Patriot. The letters resulted in a libel suit against Troy which was dropped only when Cochrane was recalled to England. In 1835 many Protestants blamed Rev. Troy for the brutal assault on Henry D. Winton, proprietor of The Ledger, who had been previously verbally attacked by the priest. Despite Rev. Troy's alleged activities, Fleming appointed him as Vicar General on 4 July 1836.
During 1836 and 1837 Rev. Troy stigmatized Roman Catholics with different political views as "mad dog Catholics" and campaigned actively for Catholic radical candidates for the House of Assembly. In 1837-8, Rev. Troy attacked Henry John Boulton, Newfoundland chief justice, and was a prominent member of the Constitutional Society, a reform movement which effectively lobbied for his removal.
The Colonial Office sought Troy's removal in 1836 and 1837 and contacted church officials in Rome for support. In 1838 Fleming received correspondence (dated 5 January) from the Congregation of Propaganda which censured Troy and ordered that he be removed from the Island of Newfoundland. Fleming relocated the controversial priest to the Island of Merasheen, Placentia Bay (1839-47). During his stay there Father Troy built a church and other parish buildings.
In 1848 Rev. Troy was appointed parish priest of Holy Trinity Parish, Torbay (1848-72). During these years as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish he replaced the wooden church with a stone structure, established a Presentation Sisters convent and school, and erected a permanent presbytery and land ("Father Troy's Farm").
Rev. Edward troy was buried in a vault in the parish church at Torbay. When a new Holy Trinity Parish Church was constructed in 1922, Troy's remains, under the supervision of the parish priest, Rev. John Ashley, were buried beneath the church. In 1992, when a second parish church was built, Rev. Troy's remains were removed and interred in Holy Trinity Parish Cemetery, Bauline Line, Torbay.