Born: 27 August 1899, Victoria Cross, Cork City, County Cork
Entered: 31 August 1917, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 14 June 1932, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1935, Mungret College SJ, Limerick
Died: 30 April 1982, St Joseph's Nursing Home, Kilcroney, County Wicklow

Part of the St Francis Xavier's community, Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin at the time of his death.

Father is a commercial traveller, and his parents now live at Mount Pleasant, College Road, Cork.

Older brother and three sisters.

Early education at PBC Cork until age 12. In 1911 he went to CBC Cork

by 1924 at Valkenburg Netherlands (GER I) studying
by 1934 at St Beuno’s Wales (ANG) making Tertianship

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 57th Year No 3 1982

Obituary

Fr Vincent Dennehy (1899-1917-1982)

My first glimpse of Vincent Dennehy was on 1st September 1919; he was a Junior preparing himself for the University; the place was Tullabeg. His singular carriage of his head and his red face singled him out from the others.
Ten years later in the theologate at Milltown Park we really got to know each other. He was a most helpful and thoughtful person. He was keen that all in the house should share in all that went on. When we revived the Gilbert and Sullivan operas at Christmas time he arranged to have a short play or sketch put before the G & S musical. This was done in order that those who were not singers might have a medium in which to entertain their fellow-students and guests.
He was ordained in Congress year, on 14th June 1932. The ordinations were early that year so that we might exercise the ministry to celebrate the bringing of the Gospel to Ireland by St Patrick.
Once the Congress got under way there followed a gruelling beginning to the priestly life in the Dublin churches; midnight often saw us returning from a day spent hearing confessions. It was an immediate and satisfying beginning to our priestly life.
A year later we were together in St Beuno's, North Wales, for our tertianship. This time of renewal was well spent in many acts of sharing and good-fellow- ship. Fr Vincent stood out in this respect and was always in good humour, so that despondent persons found in him a very rational and down-to-earth remedy for their worries.
He was always a man of principle and indeed his favourite argument in favour was always “the principle of the thing”.

A good human Jesuit of those days, untiring in doing good for others, and loyal to the Ignatian way.
At the Crescent, Limerick (1939-949), with Fr Bill Saul (d. 1976), he was involved in the revival of the Cecilian Musical Society in the 1940s. The daughter of the regiment was one of the shows staged by the CMS in those days.

From the time he was assigned to the duty of promoting the cause of Fr John Sullivan, Fr Vincent found a renewal of energy and a stimulating purpose. He really rejoiced in his close association with Fr John and during the many years of his apostolate of promotion he gained the co-operation and affection of a large number of persons. Vincent’s zeal for the work was infectious – so much so that he could and did enlist the help of a number of car owners; from them he formed a panel of drivers, each one pledged to call for him at 6.15 pm on the day of the week agreed upon. From that hour until 10 pm or later he was brought to hospitals and private houses to bless with Fr John's crucifix all who had been listed for that particular day. At a late snack between 10.30 and 11 one could be sure of meeting a very tired but happy Fr Vincent.
North of the Border there is widespread devotion to Fr John, and Vincent travelled there whenever he was wanted. He was in Belfast very shortly after the attempted murder of Bernadette McAliskey (née Devlin) and was delighted to have been called to bless the still unconscious young woman. That she recovered was, no doubt, due to Fr John's intercession, Vincent was so unsparing of himself and so utterly dedicated to his apostolate that he could be quite testy with anyone who seemed to impede or belittle the work. Nor would he allow Fr John to be second fiddle to anyone else however renowned for sanctity. If a patient had on display a picture of someone such as Padre Pio, Fr Vincent passed by! When Vincent's long suffering ended in death I am sure Fr John was at the gate to welcome his confrère and friend.

Born: 29 October 1909, Foxford, County Mayo
Entered: 01 September 1928, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 13 May 1942, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1946, Milltown Park, Dublin
Died: 24 April 1974, Crescent College, Limerick

Joseph Erraughty (in Noviceship entry own record)

Older brother of Michael Erraught - RIP 1972

Parents were farmers and then went to live at The Bungalow, Tralee, County Kerry.

Eldest of two boys with one sister.

Early education at a Convent school and then at St Mary’s CBS Tralee, County Kerry

Tertianship at Rathfarnham

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 49th Year No 2 1974

Obituary :

Fr Joseph Erraught (1909-1974)

Although Fr Erraught had had a seizure in 1972 it was not generally known, apart from his own Community, that he had a heart complaint and the sad news of his sudden death was thus an accentuated grief. His brother, Fr Michael, though younger, predeceased him, again suddenly, in 1971, from a similar ailment and within a week of Fr Joe’s death the sole surviving member of that generation of the family, Mrs Bernard MacSweeney of Tralee, succumbed in the same way,
Fr Joe was born in Foxford, Co. Mayo, on 29th October 1909, but the family in his childhood moved to Tralee where Joe attended the Christian Brothers' schools, primary and secondary. He entered the novitiate at Tullabeg on 1st September 1928, one of twenty, among whom were Patrick Ó Brolcháin, Alphonsus O’Connell and Walter O’Connor, between the latter of whom and Joe there was knit a friendship that continued all through their studies and later years until, necessarily, Fr Walter's status to Zambia partly severed the companionship. They both entered into the humorous quizzing to which they were occasionally subjected as a comment on their partnership. Joe had a keen sense of humour and the baiting, eg about the confidential position he held in Fr Paddy Kenny's esteem in Milltown during his years in theology, generally evoked a hearty laugh enhanced by the merriment of his eyes. He lived strenuous days; his intelligence was keen and he was arduously industrious. He secured a distinguished degree at Rathfarnham and was retained a fourth year in the Juniorate during which he gained an MA in Irish.
1934-36: Tullabeg, now changed to a philosophate, and he completed the course in two years when he was assigned to Belvedere for Colleges. He was a very competent teacher with classes well in control; his alert, energetic manner marked him out as one to be respected, though kindly, and he won the esteem of pupils when life-long friendships were initiated.
1939: Milltown, theology; it might appear that dogmatic theology was his metier did he now show a like competence in other branches of the curriculum: if an opinion was sought among his contemporaries at Milltown there would probably be a consensus opting for him a specialisation in Canon Law but in fact it was not so decided when after ordination, 1942, and tertianship at Rathfarnham, 1943-44, the status appointed him to a post-graduate course at Maynooth. In 1947-48 he lectured on some of the subsidiary subjects at Milltown but work more congenial was allotted to him in the latter year when he joined the Rathfarnham community as assistant director of retreats.
This work which was, it may be said, to engross his interest and attention led to his appreciating the importance of pastoral psychology and, thorough - as was his character, he made himself familiar with the extensive literature concerned with that and kindred subjects. In a relatively short time he was regarded as an authority and was consulted frequently in contexts apart from his more routine commitments.
He was a ready speaker - a distinction and authority, as it were, emanated from him; he had amassed a store of knowledge always at command, During this period at Rathfarnham the direction of the Cinema Workers at Gardiner Street was under his care and possibly it was then that he conducted the Novena of Grace which was repeatedly alluded to in later years by a seasoned critic at Gardiner Street as the best he ever heard.
1953: Promoted to Mission and Retreat Staff with base at Emo Park; his activity was incessant.
1956: Rathfarnham again as Director of Retreats; during this time he was invited to co-operate with Dr J N Moore in the treatment of psychiatric patients at St Patrick’s Hospital. He had regular hours of attendance; among the patients and with the staff he won golden opinions to which the hospital authorities readily testified.
If it was with the desire to give him a more sedentary outlet that Fr. Joe was appointed to the Retreat House at Tullabeg in 1962 the desire was amply fulfilled; his assiduity in the confessional, his readiness to converse with and guide those who came, frequently from far distances, to consult him, his preparedness and variety in arranging retreat lectures, made Rahan well-nigh a place of pilgrimage,
The years from 1969 on at the Crescent Church, Limerick, were largely a repetition of the same apostolic work, save possibly with even wider horizons leading ultimately to the establishment of the Limerick Mental Welfare Association eighteen months ago, to which he was by universal choice elected Chairman.
When he expressed the desire - as noted among the Crescent items in this issue, that he be relieved of the office of Chairman, he must have realised that his energies were declining; the heart attack in 1972 attracted little notice but the strain thereafter must have been cumulative. He carried on, nevertheless.
What was Fr Joe’s attitude in his approach to God? He was loyal to the traditional pieties of the Society; he loved the “beauty of the Lord's house” and had a meticulous regard for the rubrics the result or more probably the cause of his being Master of Ceremonies in whatever house to which he was assigned through out his scholasticate.
On April 24th while transacting some bit of business down town in Limerick he collapsed; he was assisted immediately and conveyed to Barrington’s Hospital where on admission he was pronounced dead, At the obsequies at the Crescent Church, April 26th, concelebrated Mass was participated in by almost forty priests and there was a thronged assistance of the laity. The funeral later proceeded to Mungret for interment. RIP. Among the mourners was his sister, Mrs MacSweeney, and her family; she and they little calculating that she was to follow him so closely. We offer sincerest sympathy to Mr MacSweeney and family, the sole near relations. RIP

Irish Province News 55th Year No 4 1980

A tribute in memory of Fr. Joseph Erraught ( † 24th April 1974)

And now there is a question I must ask:
Is it with saddened cowardice that we mask
Acceptance of God's will in calling one
From us who needed him?... That dear, dear one
Whom we shall miss, whose listening ear was there
With kind advice--that Man of God, so rare , .,
Alone and lost we felt. No hand to hold
In friendship's clasp of understanding grip;
Unanchored in a sea, each one a ship
Tossed in the storms of life when he had gone .
Can we be blamed for that? And yet, no one
Was strong enough to say : 'It is God's will
That he no longer works on earth': but still,
We felt that final peace in work well done,
And pride in having shared with him the stone
He rolled away from inner tombs of thought
And so released us from ourselves, and sought
For us to find our peace again and know
That sunshine of God's ways melts deepest snow
Of troubles for us all.... My heart and head
Now tell me that he lives, no longer dead
And lost to us, for now he is with God.
That man who walked with Him on earth for good
And understanding of our minds, he lives
Again for us in every day and gives
The courage that we need to keep in sight
The aims of God as seen through gentle light
Of all he was and is, with every call
For help, when we reach out and touch a wall
Or have our backs to it in sorrow's tide
For now he lives forever by our side,
Frances Condell (ex-Mayor of Limerick)

Born: 15 November 1935, Dalystown, County Westmeath
Entered: 07 September 1954, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 10 July 1968, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 10 September 1981, Luján, Argentina
Died: 07 December 2019, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

Part of the Milltown Park, Dublin community at the time of death.

by 1969 at Jerusalem, Israel (PRO) studying and teaching
by 1974 at Larkspur. CA, USA (CAL) parish and teaching
by 1975 at Millbrae. CA, USA (CAL) parish and teaching
by 1975 at Auriesville. NY, USA (NYK) making Tertianship
by 1976 at San Francisco. CA, USA (CAL) working and studying
by 1977 at Quito, Ecuador (ECU) teaching
by 1978 at Arica, Chile (CHL) teaching
by 1979 at Asunción. Paraguay (PAR) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (ARG) teaching
by 1992 at Genoa. Italy (ITA) writing

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/news/putting-the-priestly-ministry-first-james-kelly-sj/

Putting the priestly ministry First: James Kelly SJ
At the funeral Mass for Fr James Kelly SJ, celebrant Fr Bill Callanan SJ respected the wishes of the deceased and refrained from delivering a eulogy. James’s “frequently expressed desire” for this, Bill explained, did not derive from a false humility. He explained: In my view it stemmed rather from James’ deeply felt sense of his priestly ministry, and of the central place held by the preaching of the Word of God in it. All too often, in James’ view, in funeral allocutions the preacher places his or her main emphasis on the merits or demerits of the deceased. This approach has often resulted in dwelling on the biographical details of their life history, singling out their successes and lauding their accomplishments. The result tended to be that little time was given to the message of the gospel which related most directly to those present, – What is the meaning of death for the Christian? Faithful, then, to James’s wishes, Bill’s homily took the Gospel reading about the resurrection of Lazarus and reflected on the meaning of death for the Christian, especially under the sign of hope in the resurrection. You can read the full homily here » A few words of biography – and indeed of eulogy – are in order. A Westmeath man by birth and upbringing, Fr James became something of a citizen of the world in the course of his Jesuit life. After entering the Society in St Mary’s, Emo, in Co Laois, he studied Classics in UCD and Theology in Milltown Park. But shortly after his ordination at Milltown Park in 1968 he began an itinerant academic career, studying and lecturing in Biblical studies in various parts of the world. He firstly studied scripture at the École Biblique in Jerusalem, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and then the Franciscanum in Rome. Over the following years he lectured and did parish work in various Californian cities before, in 1977, beginning a lengthy period, mostly as a lecturer in Scripture, in Latin America. He worked in Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina during this time. After his return to Ireland in the mid-1980s, James lectured in biblical languages in the Milltown Institute, but he also spent periods as a writer in Genoa, Italy.
In all of this active life of scholarship, James took very much to heart the call to bring the good news to all who came his way. He had a deeply apostolic vision of priestly life. In all respects he was a good scholar, a fine priest, and a faithful Jesuit.

Early Education at Ballinagore NS, St Jarlath’s, Tuam, Co Galway; St Finian’s, Mullingar, County Westmeath

1956-1959 Rathfarnham - Studying Classics at UCD
1959-1962 Tullabeg - Studying Philosophy
1962-1965 Clongowes Wood College SJ - Regency : Teacher; Studying CWC Cert in Education
1965-1969 Milltown Park - Studying Theology
1969-1974 Jerusalem, Israel - Studied Scripture at École Biblique; Studies and Lectures at Pontifical Biblical Institute; Prepared for STD at Franciscanum (Jerusalem and Rome)
1974-1975 Larkspur, CA, USA - Assists in St Patrick’s Church
1975-1976 Millbrae, CA, USA - Assists at St Dunstan’s; Lectures one course at University of San Francisco
1976-1977 San Francisco, CA, USA - Parish work and Studying Spanish at Saint Veronica’s, Alida Way
1977-1978 Quito, Ecuador - Lecturer in Scripture at Catolica Università del Ecuador
1978-1979 Arica, Chile - Courses in Religion at Arica Antofagasta
1979-1980 Asunçion, Paraguay & Gesu Nazarone, Corrientes, Argentina
Mendoza, Argentine – Pastoral Work at Residencia, San Martin (Summers)
1980-1983 Asunción, Paraguay & Buenos Aires, Argentina - Lectures in Scripture in Asunción, Paraguay; Lectures for half year in Collegio Maximo de San José,Buenos Aires, Argentina
1983-1992 Milltown Park - Teacher of Hebrew & Greek in Milltown Institute; Chaplain in Milltown Parish, Dublin
1992-1996 Genova, Italy - Ministers in Church; Writer at Chiesa del Gesù
1996-1998 Gardiner St - Writer (6 months in Gardiner St; 6 months in Genoa, Italy)
1997 Orlando, FL, USA - Assists in Parish at St James Parish (3 months)
1998-2005 Crescent Church, Limerick - Assists in Church; Director of Sodalities BVM & St Ignatius
1999 Teaches Italian (adults) at Crescent College Comprehensive SJ, Dooradoyle; Writer
2003 Assists in Church; Teacher of Hebrew to adults;
2005-2019 Milltown Park - Teacher of Biblical Languages at Milltown Institute; Writer

Born: 19 April 1929, Dartmouth Terrace, Ranelagh, Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1954, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Ordained: 31 July 1964, Milltown Park, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1972, Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin
Died: 28 November 2016, Cherryfield Lodge, Dublin

Part of the Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare community at the time of death.

Transcribed HIB to ZAM: 03 December 1969; ZAM to HIB : 1989

Son of Joseph Murphy and Margaret Forde. Father was a carter with the London and Midland Railway.

Younger of two boys.

Educated at Liseux College in Dublin, he then went for nine years to Synge Street.

by 1960 at Chivuna, Monze, N Rhodesia - studying language Regency

Early Education at CBS Synge Street; Bolton Street DIT

1956-1959 Tullabeg - Studying Philosophy
1959-1961 Monze, Zambia - Regency : Bursar at Charles Lwanga Teachers’ Training College; Learning CiTonga
1961-1965 Milltown Park - Studying Theology
1965-1966 Rathfarnham - Tertianship
1966-1972 Mazabuka, Zambia - Parish work in BMV Assumption Parish & Nakambala Sugar Estate
1972-1987 Gardiner St - Director of Mission Office; + Province Vocations Task Force
1972 Transcribed to Zambian Province [ZAM] (02/02/1972)
1977 Assists in Church
1987-1988 Sabbatical
1988-1994 Crescent Church, Limerick - Superior ; Prefect of the Church; BVM & St Joseph Sodalities; Promoting Zambian Missions
1989 President “Cecilians Musical Society”
1989 Transcribed to Irish Province [HIB] (05/12/1989)
1994-1996 Gardiner St - Promotes Apostleship of Prayer and Messenger; Ministers in Church
1996-2016 Clongowes Wood College SJ - Treasurer and Administrator; Ministers in People’s Church; 2000 Assistant Chaplain in St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Dublin
2007 Assistant Guestmaster; Assistant Community Treasurer
2010 Ministers in People’s Church: Assistant Community Librarian
2014 Prays for the Church and the Society at Cherryfield Lodge

◆ Companions in Mission1880- Zambia-Malawi (ZAM) Obituaries :
Note from Jean Indeku Entry
During this time his real solace, as he says himself, was the weekend supplies in Mazabuka where he was duly missioned together with Frs Tom O’Meara and Vinnie Murphy.

◆ Jesuits in Ireland : https://www.jesuit.ie/news/rip-vincent-murphy-sj/

RIP: Vincent Murphy SJ
Irish Jesuit Fr Vincent Murphy passed away peacefully on the morning of Monday 28 November at Cherryfield Lodge, Milltown Park. A native of Ranelagh, Dublin, Fr Vincent qualified as a Quantity Surveyor and played for Shamrock Rovers FC prior to joining the Jesuits in September 1954. He was ordained ten years later, in 1964.
Vincent spent a number of years on mission work in Zambia, then returned to Dublin, where he was in charge of the Mission Office in Gardiner Street and was Chaplain in St. Vincent’s Hospital. In 1996, Vincent moved to Clongowes Community, and he remained there until 2014, when a stroke required that he move to Cherryfield.
His last few weeks were spent very peacefully, and he told his Rector that Cherryfield was a great preparation for heaven because of the care he was receiving there from the Staff who came to love him dearly.
Below is the homily given by Fr Michael Shiel SJ at the funeral Mass :
“This I know, that my redeemer lives, and, after my awaking, He will set me close to Him. And from my flesh I will look on God.”
As we gather to celebrate the long and full life of Vincent – rich in years and bearing much fruit – the above words are very appropriate to sum up the depth of faith of this follower of Ignatius Loyola and his ‘Friends in the Lord’. For if ever anyone was prepared to meet His Lord it was Vincent.
Some time last year, when I visited him in Cherryfield, he told me that his consultant had promised that he would live to see the new RWC Champions crowned. After the final, I asked him what his next deadline was. He said: “Now, I’m just waiting for Godot!” To which all I could say was: “Well, I hope you’ll have more luck than the other pair – Vladimir and Estragon!
Today we, as Christians, believe that he has. For we believe in the promise of Jesus just heard in the Gospel: “I am going to prepare a place for you, and I shall return to take you with me”.
Vincent was born in the year of the Great Depression. He went to school in Synge Street – and how proud he was of his Christian Brothers’ education there! He joined the Jesuits in 1954 as a late vocation, having qualified as a quantity surveyor in Bolton Street, DIT. Outside his professional life, he made his mark in (as he put it) the glory-days of Shamrock Rovers! His contemporaries in the Society used to recount how frustrated Vincent could become as they tried to find an approach to the beautiful game other than a Jack Charlton-like Garryowen-type hoof and follow!
The Irish Province’s mission to Zambia was still developing, and Vincent joined the growing band of Irish Jesuits for his regency there in 1959. After theology and ordination here in Milltown, and a final year of study in Rathfarnham, Vincent returned to Africa where he ministered in parish work before coming back again to Ireland to head up the Mission Office in Gardiner Street. His generous care of returning missionaries knew no limits and was greatly appreciated. He also helped out in the Church, and he was Vocations Director as well.
est of his apostolic life was spent in Dublin and Limerick, before he joined our Community in Clongowes just 20 years ago. He followed in the footsteps of Fr John Sullivan as he served in the People’s Church and then ministered as Chaplain in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin. And lastly, as failing health brought him to Cherryfield Lodge, his final – and very important – mission was to pray for the Church and the Society of Jesus, for his Companions who continue to carry on God’s work in many different fields.
Such, in very few lines, is the life of Fr Vincent Murphy SJ. He was unsung and unheralded in the world at large, but so too was he rewarding and fruitful in doing good and in enriching the lives of very many people and families to whom he brought the Good News of God’s saving power, as he lived it in his own life. God’s love was indeed inscribed with iron chisel (his faith) and engraving tool (his generosity) cut into the rock of people’s lives as they experienced his ministering zeal. Nowhere was this seen to greater effect than in his years as Hospital chaplain, where his patience and care for both the sick and the hospital staff bore much fruit and brought comfort and hope to those who were facing an uncertain future.
In later years, first of all in Clongowes Wood College and more recently in Cherryfield, God continued to give Vincent as a special gift to others, this time as someone in need of their love and care. It is only right, at a time like this, to pay tribute to the CWC Infirmary Nurses and Community Staff whose care allowed him bonus-years there.
For someone who, as I said at the start, was surely prepared to meet his Lord, Vincent seemed simply not to want to let go of his Cherryfield carer-friends, as I was to witness during the past week. It began for me as a simple overnight stay, and it ended as an extraordinary and privileged experience of seeing at first hand – behind-the-scenes, early mornings and late nights – the care of every single one of the staff, both nursing and support. It was fitting that the former dispenser of God’s caring love as a hospital chaplain should himself be the receiver of a quite extraordinary outpouring of care and love by the team in Cherryfield. On behalf of the CWC Community, and of the Irish Jesuits, I can only say a deep-down thanks to each and every one of you.
“I am going to prepare a place for you – and, after I have gone and prepared a place for you – I shall return to take you with me, so that, where I am, you may be too.”
It is our Christian faith which brings us to the Eucharist this morning – our Faith that Christ did indeed return to call His disciple home, when just two days ago, accompanied by George Fallon and myself, Vincent came to the end of his long and faith-filled journey. It was his dies natalis, his heavenly birthday, as the Roman martyrology called it, as his tent that we live in on earth was folded up, and he moved to the everlasting home, not made by human hands, in the heavens. Now, in his turn, Vincent has gone ahead of us to help prepare a place for us and he will be on hand to welcome each one of us to Our Father’s home.
So often in life we say good-bye. It comes from the ancient wish or prayer ‘May God be with you’. And today we say it to Vincent at this, his last Mass.
And so we pray: “May Christ enfold you in His Love, and bring you to eternal life; may God and Mary be with you.”
Be assured that we will pray for you, Vincent. May you also pray for us. And so we say farewell, and, until we meet again, good-bye.

◆ Biographical Notes of the Jesuits in Hong Kong 1926-2000, by Frederick Hok-ming Cheung PhD, Wonder Press Company 2013 ISBN 978 9881223814 :

Note from Tommy Martin Entry
1974 He retired from this work of Missions Procurator and handed over to Vincent Murphy.

◆ The Clongownian, 2017

Obituary

Father Vincent Murphy SJ : A Special Gift to Others

A member of the community of Clongowes Wood College SJ, Fr. Vincent Murphy SJ, passed away peacefully last November (28th), in Cherryfield Lodge, Milltown Park; he will be sadly missed.

Vincent was a valued member of the Clongowes Community since his arrival here in 1996 as Treasurer and Administrator. In 2014 Vincent suffered a mild stroke and spent a weekend in Naas Hospital. He then transferred to Cherryfield Lodge where he lived very contentedly until around Hallowe'en when he began to decline. His last few weeks were spent very peacefully, and he told his Rector that Cherryfield was a great preparation for heaven because of the care he was receiving there from the staff who came to love him dearly.

Below is the homily given by Fr Michael Shiel SJ at Vincent's funeral Mass.

This I know, that my redeemer lives, and, after my awaking, He will set me close to Him. And from my flesh I will look on God. As we gather to celebrate the long and full life of Vincent - rich in years and bearing much fruit - the above words are very appropriate to sum up the depth of faith of this follower of Ignatius Loyola and his “Friends in the Lord”. For if ever anyone was prepared to meet His Lord it was Vincent. Some time last year, when I visited him in Cherryfield, he told me that his consultant had promised that he would live to see the new Rugby World Cup Champions crowned. After the final, I asked him what his next deadline was. He said: “Now, I'm just waiting for Godot!” To which all I could say was: “Well, I hope you'll have more luck than the other pair - Vladimir and Estragon!” Today we, as Christians, believe that he has. For we believe in the promise of Jesus just heard in the Gospel: “I am going to prepare a place for you, and I shall return to take you with me”.

Vincent was born in 1929 - the year of the Great Depression. He went to school in Synge Street - and how proud he was of his Christian Brothers' education there! He joined the Jesuits in 1954 as a late vocation, having qualified as a quantity Surveyor in Bolton Street, DIT. Outside his professional life, he made his mark in las he put it) the glory-days of Shamrock Rovers! His contemporaries in the Society used to recount how frustrated Vincent could become as they tried to find an approach to the beautiful game other than a Jack Charlton-like Garryowen-type hoof and follow!

The Irish Province's mission to Zambia was still developing, and Vincent joined the growing band of Irish Jesuits for his regency there in 1959. After theology and ordination here in Milltown, and a final year of study in Rathfarnham, Vincent returned to Africa where he ministered in parish work before coming back again to Ireland to head up the Mission Office in Gardiner Street. His generous care of returning missionaries knew no limits and was greatly appreciated. He also helped out in the Church, and he was Vocations Director as well. He was not destined to return to Zambia, although he retained strong affectionate links with Africa. The rest of his apostolic life was spent in Dublin and Limerick, before he joined our Community in Clongowes just 20 years ago. He followed in the footsteps of Fr John Sullivan as he served in the People's Church and then ministered as Chaplain in St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin. And lastly, as failing health brought him to Cherryfield Lodge, his final - and very important - mission was to pray for the Church and the Society of Jesus, for his Companions who continue to carry on God's work in many different fields.

Such, in very few lines, is the life of Fr Vincent Murphy SJ. He was unsung and unheralded in the world at large, but so too was he rewarding and fruitful in doing good and in enriching the lives of very many people and families to whom he brought the Good News of God's saving power, as he lived it in his own life. God's love was indeed inscribed with iron chisel This faith) and engraving tool (his generosity) cut into the rock of people's lives as they experienced his ministering zeal. Nowhere was this seen to greater effect than in his years as hospital chaplain, where his patience and care for both the sick and the hospital staff bore much fruit and brought comfort and hope to those who were facing an uncertain future. In later years, first of all in Clongowes Wood College and more recently in Cherryfield, God continued to give Vincent as a special gift to others, this time as someone in need of their love and care, It is only right, at a time like this, to pay tribute to the Clongowes Infirmary Nurses and Community Staff whose care allowed him bonus-years there.

For someone whom, as | said at the start, was surely prepared to meet his Lord, Vincent seemed simply not to want to let go of his Cherryfield carer-friends, as I was to witness during the past week. It began for me as a simple overnight stay, and it ended as an extraordinary and privileged experience of seeing at first hand - behind-the-scenes, early mornings and late nights - the care of every single one of the staff, both nursing and support. It was fitting that the former dispenser of God's caring love as a hospital chaplain should himself be the receiver of a quite extraordinary outpouring of care and Love by the team in Cherryfield. On behalf of the Clongowes Community and of the Irish Jesuits, I can only say a deep-down thanks to each and every one of you.

“I am going to prepare a place for you - and, after I have gone and prepared a place for you - I shall return to take you with me, so that, where I am, you may be too”.

It is our Christian faith which brings us to the Eucharist this morning - our Faith that Christ did indeed return to call His disciple home, when just two days ago, accompanied by George Fallon and myself, Vincent came to the end of his long and faith-filled journey. It was his “dies natalis”, his heavenly birthday, as the Roman martyrology called it, as his tent that we live in on earth was folded up, and he moved to the everlasting home, not made by human hands, in the heavens. Now, in his turn, Vincent has gone ahead of us to help prepare a place for us and he will be on hand to welcome each one of us to Our Father's home.

So often in life we say good-bye. It comes from the ancient wish or prayer May God be with you and today we say it to Vincent at this, his last Mass. And so we pray:

May Christenfold you in His Love, and bring you to eternal life; may God and Mary be with you. Be assured that we will pray for you, Vincent. May you also pray for us.

And so we say farewell, and, until we meet again, good-bye.