Canon John Gervase Maurice Walker Murphy LVO (20 August 1926 — 7 January 2014) was an army chaplain and international rugby union player from Northern Ireland.[1]
| Full name | John Gervase Maurice Walker Murphy | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 August 1926 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bangor, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 7 January 2014 (aged 87) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Norfolk, England | ||||||||||||||||
| School | Methodist College Belfast | ||||||||||||||||
| University | Trinity College Dublin | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Clergy | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Born in Bangor, County Down, Murphy attended Methodist College Belfast and Trinity College Dublin, in between serving in the Royal Ulster Rifles. He played rugby as a fullback for Ireland while a curate in Lurgan, with appearances against the Springboks and All Blacks amongst his six caps.[2]
Murphy became a Royal Army chaplain in 1955. After 22 years as a chaplain, Murphy was appointed rector of the Norfolk parish of Ranworth and Rural Dean of Blofield. He was later Domestic chaplain to the Queen.[3]
In the 1987 New Year Honours, Murphy was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Rugby international and former chaplain to queen". The Irish Times. 8 February 2014.
- ^ "Canon Gerry Murphy - obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 23 January 2014.
- ^ "Gerry Murphy: Irish rugby star, Army padre and chaplain to the Queen". Belfast Telegraph. 12 February 2014.
- ^ "Gerry Murphy: Former Norfolk chaplain to the Queen was international rugby player". Eastern Daily Press. 13 January 2014.
External links
edit- Gerry Murphy at ESPNscrum