sir norman thomas gilroy (22 january 1896 – 21 october 1977) was an australian archbishop. he was the first australian-born cardinal of the roman catholic church. he became a priest in 1923. he was archbishop of sydney from 1940 until his retirement in 1971. he was became a knight commander of the order of the british empire in 1969. he was the first roman catholic cardinal to have been given a knighthood since the english reformation. in 1970, he was named australian of the year. he was born in glebe, an inner-western suburb of sydney, new south wales.