Father Brian Murphy OSB, has died in Limerick aged 86.
He had many interests and talents and was an active gardener until days before his death on Monday 16th MAY.
Born in England, taught by Jesuits in St Ignatius College, Stamford Hill, and holding degrees in History, from Oxford, UCD, and Trinity College Dublin, he was the author of “The Origins and Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland, 1920” a magisterial work published by the Aubane Historical Society.
Father Murphy challenged distortions of history by bringing authentic irrefutable facts to public attention. On April 2 2000 he had an opinion piece “Distorting the Image of Pearse” published in the IRISH TIMES which should have effected a change of line of the paper’s leading columnist Kevin Myers, or the disappearance of Myers from any journal of integrity.
On March 30 2016 in the same paper, ,by scrupulous presentation of records, Father Murphy demolished ex-Taoiseach John Bruton’s contention that Irish independence could have been achieved without armed resistance to British Rule –“Bruton wrong to claim Ireland could win independence by peaceful means alone.”
Both these pieces can be accessed online.
Father Murphy was always polite, as becomes a religious scholar. But I’m reminded of what Bernard Shaw said of Trotsky. In controversy he cut off the head of opponent, and then held it up to show that it had no brains.
When Roy Foster launched a long attack on Ken Loach’s film “The Wind That Shakes The Barley” Father Murphy answered
the attack line by line.
Shaw would have applauded.
Father Murphy was buried today, Saturday 21 May 2022 after Requiem Mass at Glenstal Abbey, Limerick.
AR DHEIS DE GO RAIBH A ANAM DHILIS
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