In memory of Tommy Murphy - By Fr Pat O'Shea

I sat and watched the funeral of my classmate Tommy Murphy which took place in Hong Kong on January 27, Chinese New Year. Since news came of his death on January 6, I have been trying to take in the fact that Tommy is no longer with us.

Columban Fr Tommy Murphy

We started life together in 1967 as part of a class of 33 new students in Dalgan. We lived through a fairly turbulent time of change in the seminary. The impact of Vatican II was starting to filter through.  Our second year, 1968, is referred to in a book by Mark Kurlansky as the year that rocked the world. Our seminary world was not spared and we had our own form of student revolt that was to prompt major changes in our formation program. Such was the impact that a later study done on the Columbans in the Philippines identified 1968 as a turning point for the Society.

Over our 7 years in Dalgan we saw the number of students in the house drop dramatically as the bigger classes ahead of us were ordained, smaller classes followed us and the number of students leaving increased. Of the original 33 that started 12 were ordained.

The probation class of 1967

Tommy was appointed to Korea and I went to the Philippines. In 1978 Tommy moved to Taiwan and developed a great interest in China. Our paths did not cross again until after 1993 when Tommy was the Regional Director in Ireland and I was home on vacation from Australia. We met again in 2000 when Tommy came to Sydney as a delegate to the General Assembly.  Tommy came on visitation to New Zealand in 2009 when he was the Superior General.  Our next get together was in Hong Kong in 2011 when I was on my way to Ireland and Tommy was still the Superior General of the Society and had been instrumental in moving the General Council to Hong Kong. Remembering the fun-loving Tommy that I knew as a student I was impressed by the calm, assured and serious way that he handled the role of SG. We were both in Ireland in 2014 and attended the Jubilee celebrations in Dalgan. Compared to Dan Fitzgerald and Fred Hanson, who were celebrating 75 years of Columban mission that day, our 40 years did not seem to be a big deal. But it was good to celebrate it with Tommy, Sean Martin and Pat O’Donaghue.

The last time I met with Tommy was in 2017 when the class of 67 gathered to celebrate 50 years since we all arrived in Dalgan. Of the original 33, 21 were present which is a good number given than 6 of our class had already died and there were a couple that we were unable to contact.  Our gathering was mostly informal but we did have an extraordinary session on the Saturday morning that made a deep impression on me. In a very relaxed open sharing session I saw a common theme. The shared experience of going through our first year together (boot camp) as a group of young men who shared a desire to do good in the world had created a bond between us and shaped the way the lives of all of us had unfolded.  The fact that the bond was still there after 50 years was an amazing gift. Seamus Corby and Dan Dillon were the key people involved in the organising of that gathering. Somehow, I felt it also bore Tommy’s imprint. Over the years he had maintained contact with many of our original class and had visited them whenever he had the opportunity.  Those meetings, like my own with Tommy, were irregular and spaced out over time but enough to maintain and nurture the original bond.

Since that meeting, we have lost a few more members of the class of 67 – Pat Rafferty, Simon Kennedy, Martin Scanlan, Cathal Gallagher and now Tommy.  May they all rest in peace.

Fr Pat O'Shea - Lower Hutt, New Zealand