Rest easy Gerard

Heartfelt tributes to the late Cllr Gerard Murphy took up most of Monday’s meeting of Cork County Council following his death last week.

In the first full council meeting since Mr Murphy’s passing, elected members across all parties shared stories and gave emotional accounts of their time serving with of one of the council’s longest-serving members.

Cllr Murphy was laid to rest last Friday at Clonfert Cemetery in his hometown of Newmarket.

Opening the floor, Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Frank O’Flynn said Cllr Murphy, who represented Fine Gael, was a personal friend to him and his family.

“It’s very sad today to look over there on the right and there’s no Cllr Gerard Murphy,” said the mayor.

“He always had the council and the people at heart.

“He was gentle but solid – by God was he solid,” he added.

Fine Gael Cllr Susan McCarthy described Cllr Murphy as a “voice of reason” and someone who always had a “glint in his eye”.

Cllr McCarthy said: “He was always at the end of the phone.

“He didn’t care what party you were from, all parties and none, he was there to support you because he was, above all, a community man – he was a politician, he was there for the right reasons. To me he was a true statesman in that regard,” she added.

When Cllr McCarthy joined the council ten years ago, Cllr Murphy was one of the first people to come and welcome her.

“He was a wonderful friend, a mentor, a father figure,” continued Cllr McCarthy.

“He had time and understanding for everybody. Nobody ever had a bad word to say about him and that is the mark of a man, and that is the mark of a true statesman. Rest easy Gerard, your work is done,” she added.

Cllr Liam Madden (FG) said: “The reality is there this morning, to see the empty seat, that is the real reality of poor Gerard – he’s gone, and my sympathies to his family, his wife Marion, his son Donncha and daughter Trish, and also to his community.”

Fianna Fáil Cllr Seamus McGrath said: “I think it was very obvious on Friday in Newmarket the high esteem he was held in when you saw the local crowds turn out, people coming out of businesses as the hearse passed.

“He was a true public servant, he was a very humble and unassuming politician, a very wise and very astute politician without a shadow of a doubt, and there is a huge void here in the chamber as a result of his passing,” he added.

Cllr Gerard Murphy was first elected to council in 1992 before being elected to Dáil Eireann as a TD for Cork North West in 2002.

He returned to local politics in 2007 representing Kanturk-Mallow Municipal District and the Southern Regional Assembly.