Arthur John "Darcy" Heeney was a New Zealand boxer, who won a silver medal for his country at the 1938 British Empire Games.
12 Facts About Darcy Heeney
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Darcy Heeney died during World War II, when the ship in which he was serving, HMS Neptune, struck enemy mines off the coast of Libya.
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Darcy Heeney was of Irish and Maori descent, affiliating to the Ngati Awa iwi.
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Darcy Heeney's father won the New Zealand amateur welterweight boxing title in 1914, and later fought as a professional, while his uncle, Tom Darcy Heeney, unsuccessfully challenged Gene Tunney for the world heavyweight title in 1928.
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Darcy Heeney was educated St Mary's and Marist Brothers schools in Gisborne, before completing his secondary education at Sacred Heart College, Auckland.
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Darcy Heeney gained the soubriquet "Darcy" at a young age, after the Australian boxer Les Darcy.
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Darcy Heeney won the national amateur welterweight title in 1937,1938, and 1939, becoming the first amateur fighter in New Zealand to defend his title twice consecutively.
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Darcy Heeney reached the final, but lost on points to the Australian fighter, Bill Smith.
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Darcy Heeney was an accomplished rugby union player, and captained the Poverty Bay Colts team from halfback.
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Darcy Heeney was described as an "all-round field athlete and swimmer", and "useful cyclist".
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Darcy Heeney was killed in action on 19 December 1941 when the Neptune struck four mines about 20 miles from Tripoli.
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In 2014, Darcy Heeney was inducted into the Sport Gisborne Legends of Sport hall of fame.