Farewell Fr Tidy

TIDY Towns groups across the county have paid their respects to Fr Michael Murphy, a stalwart of community volunteerism in Kerry, after he passed away at the weekend just days shy of 95. Fr Murphy played a pivotal role in Sneem, Kenmare, and Killarney winning overall gold medals in the national Tidy Towns competition. Speaking on behalf of Killarney Tidy Towns, Johnny McGuire said Fr Murphy was the ‘root and branch’ behind Kerry’s superb record in the competition. “We wouldn’t have a county as clean as we have, we wouldn’t have Tidy Towns groups as committed as we have,” Mr McGuire said. “He’s top and bottom of everything [Tidy Towns] that’s happened in the county.” At Fr Murphy’s Funeral Mass yesterday (Tuesday) in St Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney, Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne described Fr Murphy as “A warm-hearted, humble priest who loved to serve people,” a sentiment echoed throughout the county in recent days.

KERRY has said farewell to one of its great community stalwarts as the late Fr Michael Murphy was laid to rest in the grounds of Holy Cross Church, Kenmare, yesterday. Fr Murphy passed away in Killarney Nursing Home on Saturday, January 18, just 11 days shy of his 95th birthday. At his Funeral Mass yesterday in St Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney, Bishop Bill Murphy told the congregation his brother will be remembered by many “for his involvement in the social life of the various parishes in which he served”, not least Sneem, Kenmare, and Killarney, where he was crucial to all three localities’ national Tidy Towns successes. Fr Murphy was born in Glenflesk in January 1925. He was ordained in1950 in Maynooth. His first posting was in the Motherwell Diocese in Scotland, and from 1953 onwards he served in Parishes throughout Kerry: Killeentierna, Prior, St John’s Tralee, Killarney, Sneem, and Kenmare. He retired to Killarney in 2004, and his passion for keeping communities tidy endured “He lived there independently, growing flowers and vegetables and pulling up weeds and picking up papers,” Bishop Murphy said during the homily. “That came to an abrupt end on a Sunday morning on December 6, 2015, when he suffered horrendous injuries in an accident. And the world, as he had hitherto experienced it, came to an end.” Fr Murphy took up residence in Killarney Nursing Home. While his final years were difficult, his faith sustained him. “His community involvement flowed from a faith that was as solid as a rock,” Bishop Murphy said. “It must have been extremely frustrating to be confined to a chair in a room, and shuffling along with the aid of a walker. He was like a caged bird...But I never heard him complain. “His faith and hope sustained him throughout his life, but particularly in those years.” Among the Concelebrants were Bishops Ray Browne and Billy Crean. Bishop Browne described Fr Murphy as a “Warm-hearted, humble priest who loved to serve people.” Killarney Tidy Towns volunteers formed a guard of honour as the cortége left St Mary’s for Kenmare. There, students and Tidy Towns members formed a guard on the approach to Holy Cross Church, where a violin rendition of ‘Ag Críost an Síol’ played as he was laid to rest. Fr Murphy is sadly missed by his brother Bishop Bill; sisters Mary and Anne; nieces; nephews; grandnieces; grandnephews; relatives; the Diocese: the communities he served; friends; and staff and residents of Killarney Nursing Home.