'Tang was a real resting place for me'

“It's a huge wrench, I didn't realise how much it meant to me. I have never been in a place as long as I have been in Tang,” the emotional words of Fr Jerry Murphy recently as he bids farewell after a 17-year stint in the parish.

The 79-year-old Cork city native is retiring to Dalgan Park in Navan, home of the Columbans, after serving in the Philippines, Jamaica, New York, London, Togher in Cork and Ballymun in a what he joked has been “a wide experience” during his ministry.

A very popular figure locally, he has been back in Tang and Athlone in recent weeks saying his final goodbyes and tying up loose ends and helping the transition for the new local priest Fr Godwin Atede, who arrived recently in Tang from Nigeria.

Ordained in 1966, Fr Jerry recalled being encouraged to come to try out the seminary in Dalgan Park, Navan, by a friend, Fr Jerry stayed and his pal left. He smiled that he found his vocation through other people while waiting for a job.

Following his ordination Fr Jerry was sent to Philippines, a posting he enjoyed immensely, saying the Filipino people were absolutely lovely despite the widespread poverty.

“There is 100 million people in the Philippines and one-third of them are below the poverty line. It's another world,” commented Fr Jerry, saying he greatly admired the people for the way they cared for older people and their families.

“In the first ten years in the Philippines, things were good where I was. It was quiet enough, then I went into a place where there was a lot of fighting going on, that was tough.

“Where I was (in the 1970s) half the population was Christian, and a half was Muslim so there was a fight between the Mayor and the Muslim leader. That created a lot of trouble, most people evacuated.

“My house, the church and school were burned down. The whole place was rattled at that particular time, so it was a traumatic time,” he remembered.

The violent situation took its toll on Fr Jerry's health leading to insomnia and depression, and in 1979 he returned to London in a bid to get well. Fr Jerry candidly said he was in bad shape but little by little he got better. While there, he worked in a university doing group work.

The depression is something that he has battled at several stages since then, he admitted, something he's very open about with his parishioners.

Fr Jerry said that walking and talking has helped him, along, of course, with medical treatment.

“The second pandemic brought back the depression – I had to go to the hospital for two weeks and stay in Dalgan for over a month. Walking helped. “I think it's coming up now (for discussion) because the pandemic made a lot of people more depressed. People started talking about it a bit more.

"It's something that can get healed. The very fact of talking about it helps,” he believes, saying it also lessens the stigma.

One thing he does worry about though is the effects of drugs on the community, having worked with people coming off the streets in New York city and Jamaica in the past.

“It's very easy to get addicted to crack cocaine, not physically addicted, but psychologically addicted. It can create huge damage in society,” he recalled, saying it was very tough work but he learned a lot.

A fan of reggae from his time in the Caribbean country, Fr Jerry recalled fondly going to late-night concerts and reggae dancing or singing 'Everything is going to be alright' by Bob Marley to young kids worried about their First Confession. He agrees that these interests have meant he can relate to all kinds of people in all kinds of places, and he has never had a problem making friends or connecting with people.

He worked with a lot of Travellers in Tang because many come there to get baptised because they think it is a lucky church.

“I have a lot of time for them but I know there is a lot of exploitation there too...and not enough concern for them as people. They are kind of outsiders in their own place,” he observed.

On the future of the church, he is very optimistic if social justice and laypeople are at the heart of what is happening: “If we're with the poor we're going to make it.”

“It's really about women and laypeople getting much more involved in the church for me. I think we're the last of Mohicans really, that clerical church that we have and anyone that keeps going on about the clerical stuff is in the wrong direction I think myself. What I mean on the clerical line is that the priest being number one. It's a different church that we're about now.

“We have a long way to go in Ireland in terms of education in the church. Really in my experience of Ireland and just speaking for myself, and not anyone else, most of the people I've been facing on a Sunday what they have learned has come from their communion time.

He believes the current Synod is extremely important for the future.

“It's a way forward and it's important more people need to get involved in that Synod and just share as much as possible of their faith, of their lack of faith, or of their no faith,” he said, adding that he has plenty of faults himself and his faith is up and down like others.

On the issue of women becoming priests, Fr Murphy said: “I don't know whether women want to be priests or not, but there needs to be a lot more participation of women in the church.

“It needs to be more open, more tolerant, understanding of more situations in life, a lot more, and women too. That's a huge problem still in terms of the Catholic Church.”

He'd also like to see a change in the power system in the church as well and some of the teachings.

“We'll probably have a smaller church (in future) but more in tune with the times, more in tune with the poor in society and the prophets in society, the McVerrys (Peter). It means that the church has to be aware of all those social issues and they need to see the lack that's there in society.

“Churches will pull together, I think in 20 years time the churches will have pulled together and will be more understanding of other religions as well, and the goodness in them. It will be more tolerant and more aware of environmental issues, nature, the power of nature, that sort of stuff.”

As he prepares to say his final goodbyes, Fr Jerry spoke of his love of Tang and Athlone, and his many great friends.

“Tang was a real resting place for me really. It was a lovely place to be. I felt at home there,” he said with clear affection for the area.

“I fell in love with Tang, the people there, and the generosity of the people. They volunteer pretty easily as well. The soul of Ireland is fine in my view,” added the cleric.

A big sports fan, Fr Jerry played football and rugby in his youth, even progressing to play schools rugby with Munster, something that got him suspended from the GAA in very different times, he laughed.

Asked his plans for his retirement, Fr Jerry quipped on the theme that he might join up with the Munster team if they were looking for a chaplain or head off to Ronan O'Gara's team in France.

In a more serious tone, he said: “I'll probably write a book. I'll take my time and try and discern what I want to do. Hopefully, something comes up that I really want to do. It's not going to be something big because my memory isn't as good as it was.

“I'm 80 in July so it's a different time,” he said very honestly, before adding that he is also looking forward to spending more time in Cork with his family.