Dr Matt will live long in Bantry hearts and minds

THE guard of honour for Dr Matt Murphy’s funeral cortege showed the love and respect the people of Bantry had for this kind and much-admired GP and man of the community.

The passing of Dr Matt will be deeply felt by his wife, Ann, and his children Diarmaid, Daithí and Niamh, but lots of people who claimed a close association with him are grieving too.

In an article in The Southern Star in 2018, marking the occasion of his retirement, it was said that Matt always spoke ‘sotto voce’ [in a quiet voice].

It was redolent, not only of his calm and reassuring manner, but also his considerable and wry sense of humour.

For 50 years, Matt, as a GP in Durrus and Bantry, was the person people turned to in times of great worry and doubt.

His had always been a wiser head. He was at all times respected – not just for his vast medical knowledge – but also for his sheer likeability.

Part of Matt’s appeal could be attributed to the fact that he was readily accessible in other ways too.

As a member of Muintir Bhaire, the local football club, he served his time and had – as he said himself – ‘a lifetime souvenir of the club in the form of a metal knee.’

But it was watersports that was Matt’s forte. He had, after all, been rowing all his life. He started when he was 12 and went on to row for Bantry, when the local club was formed in 1963.

It was in 1988 that Matt took things up a gear when he got involved in the Atlantic Challenge. It’s a maritime skills contest with crews from 20 countries competing in replicas of the vessel that was left behind by the failed French invasion of 1796.

Mark, together with Mark Wickham, formed a crew to take part in the first event, which was held in France. And to this day, crews from Bantry continue to take part in the competition every two years.

In 1996 – the bicentenary of the ill-fated 1796 French invasion – Bantry hosted the Atlantic Challenge and people still remember it as being one of the most colourful, memorable and exciting events ever staged in the town.

Looking back on a career in medicine that spanned almost 50 years, Matt, on the occasion of his retirement, said: ‘It’s a short look back, but I know that a lot of life has been fitted into that time.’

Matt Murphy died on February 18th but his memory will live on in the hearts and minds of the people of Bantry.