Fond tributes to Beara man who always put people before politics
TRIBUTES continue to be paid to West Cork Fianna Fáil Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy who died unexpectedly at his home at the weekend, age 54.
The former Uhran footballer, of Ahabrook, Eyeries, Beara and Bantry, had served on Cork County Council since 2008 and as County Mayor in 2018.
A year later he raised almost €20,000 for local charities with a parachute jump. A wheelchair user since a car accident in 1993 when he was 21, he became a tireless advocate for disability rights.
‘His disability never defined him,’ said his first cousin, Caroline O’Callaghan, who was as close to the late Patrick Gerard Murphy as a sister.
‘Our friendship, and our bond, really strengthened following his accident,’ said Caroline, his right-hand woman in each of the four election campaigns that were successfully fought by the late Fianna Fáil councillor.
‘Following his car accident, Patrick Gerard gained an unwavering strength because no matter what the world threw at him he rose above it.
‘Our last conversation in the car is echoing in my mind,’ she said.
‘We as a family have endured a lot of loss over the past number of months, and he was saying how we must stick closer together, now more than ever.
‘We were much more than just family; as kids our two families were always close. I have great memories of being in their house in Ahabrook in Eyeries, and they here in ours, in Glengarriff, and our parents, having dinner, debating politics, or the GAA or whatever, while we were busy playing.’
Caroline recalls the time ‘when all the odds were stacked against him.’ He had spent his 21st birthday at the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire, learning how to use a wheelchair.
‘I was so proud when he returned to college to complete his degree in civil engineering. Even at that, that wasn’t the end of his goals; he then turned around and opened a bar called the Brown Derby at Barrack Street in Cork, which was also very successful, and he had a restaurant in Charleville with two of his very close friends Cora and Mary.’
She added: ‘That didn’t seem to be enough excitement for him because that’s when he entered the world of politics.’
He secured his seat in the Bantry Electoral Area in 2009, and was re-elected in 2014, and 2019, and again in last year’s local elections in June.
‘He led his first election campaign from his hospital bed in CUH, where he was being treated for an infection,’ Caroline recalled.
‘I thought we were going to be thrown out of the hospital because I brought a barber over from the Wilton Shopping Centre to get his hair cut just to make sure he looked his best before addressing the public.’
That was the beginning of Caroline’s career as his personal shopper, his stylist, and his most ardent supporter, and she said one of the highlights came in 2018 when he was elected the Mayor of Cork County.
Caroline said she is but one of a number of people who formed a close bond with Patrick Gerard because he was, quite simply, a man they believed in, and a man who got things done in his community.
Caroline (née Guerin) likened him to an ‘ambassador’ because he formed lasting bonds and relationships which will be part of his legacy. ‘His adaptability, flexibility and empathy were things that brought people along with him, together with his roguish wit and devilment,’ she said.
Caroline, like his closest friends, family and supporters, have long memories of canvassing: ‘the craic and the banter and the friendships that were formed during the campaigns.’
In one way, she said he taught the country how his disability would never define him. ‘He fought so much for his community. As everyone knows, he adored West Cork. He worked hard on planning matters and support for rural development.
‘But it was his thirst for education that was at the forefront of everything he did. He had a passion for fighting for the mental health services and the disability services in West Cork, and I know he was very proud to be the manager of the National Learning Network.
‘Family and friends meant the world to Patrick Gerard. He had a way with people that I couldn’t even begin to explain. He was really like his darling mother, Mary, whom he lost following a car accident in 1987, when he was just 16-years-old. Like her, he never let anything get him down.
‘His love of community and his interest in people was something he got from his supportive dad, Patrick,’ said Caroline.
Aiden McCarthy, chairman of the Comhairle Dáil Ceantair for Cork South West, described his friend as being a naturally quiet and reserved person, but also someone who had political connections the length and breadth of the country.
‘He loved being in the cut and thrust of politics, and with an engineering background it helped him to have a well informed and articulate grasp of planning, policy and services,’ said Aiden.
‘Over the years, in supporting Patrick Ger I had first-hand knowledge of what it was like for someone to be in a wheelchair, even to deal with the basic issues which the rest of us take for granted.
‘Disability never restricted him in his professional capacity and he always brought constructive, informed, and well-thought out solutions to every issue or policy being discussed.
‘His father, Patrick, had been a great support for Patrick throughout his life and when he died – ten years ago in December – it left a big void for him.
‘Patrick Ger has two brothers, Mike and Noel, whom he was very fond of, and two nephews, Jack and Cory. His cousin Caroline was like a sister to him. He could rely on her for so much support.
‘Colman O’Sullivan, in his native Eyeries, was another rock on which Patrick Ger could depend. He valued his friendship greatly and they enjoyed many outings abroad together.’
‘He will be difficult to replace,’ said Aiden, who, on a personal level, said: ‘I will miss him greatly as a friend.’
*In next week’s edition, The Southern Star will report on his requiem mass at St Kentigern’s Church in Eyeries and feature some of the tributes paid by Cork County Council, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and his colleagues.
