Murphy’s roots ran deep in Mansion House ceremony

IF ANYTHING illustrated the esteem in which Tom Murphy was held it was the decision of President Michael D Higgins to give the final speech at his funeral service in the Mansion House on Saturday.

It came as no surprise that the playwright who had often spoken of the damage he believed the Catholic Church had done chose a humanist ceremony for his departure from the stage.
And yet among the tributes paid to him in the days since his death was announced late on Tuesday night May 15 was a heartfelt one from Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam.
The Archbishop said, “The people of Tuam were immensely proud of Tom Murphy. At the heart of Tom’s work were the themes of emigration and displacement which continue to resonate here in his native Tuam as well as with generations who grew up with Tom and experienced a very different Ireland to what we know today."

Read the full report in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald