Although he loved his pupils and teaching dearly, the commitment of Norman Murphy, who has died aged 46, to the credit union movement, led him to retire early from his first calling and devote himself to his second.
Born in Dublin, he taught in a number of schools before joining Stratford College in Rathgar, in 1978, to teach junior science and biology. Former colleagues at Stratford College recall a popular member of staff, a much-liked man and a highly respected teacher, who did not want to give up teaching.
Give it up, however, he was forced to do, in 1994, as his eyesight deteriorated. As one put it: "If he had been teaching anything else he might have been able to continue. But with lab work it would have just been dangerous."
Perhaps though, it was meant to happen that way. While other representative bodies had had their own credit union, in 1983 the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland had none. Always an active member of the union, he was a founding member of its credit union.
His tenacity, along with others, in establishing the credit union was praised by the Irish League of Credit Unions, who called him one of a "group of trade unionists with a shared vision and a desire to improve the economic state of their fellow members".
Norman Murphy was driven by more than a mere desire to establish the ASTI's credit union. He was inspired by the mutual self-help ethos of the movement and became eagerly involved.
He was elected to the Board of the Irish League of Credit Unions in 1988, going on to serve on the executive committee. He was chairman of the administrative committee and of the finance/insurance committee. Most significantly, he was also chairman of the legislation committee.
His proudest moment was in 1997 when he was elected president of the league and though he suffered ill-health throughout his presidency, his achievements were considerable.
It was during his term that the Irish Credit Union Act was signed - a huge step forward for the movement for which he had worked tirelessly. The law provides a modern legislative framework that will, says the league, "allow credit unions to develop more quality services for their growing membership into the new millennium".
He also presided over the league's purchase and move to new premises in Dublin's Lower Mount Street.
Credit union activists travelled from across the country to his funeral. The glowing tributes paid to him there bear witness to the esteem in which he was held. As one member of the board put it: "The dream of which he was so proud to be a part lives on".
Norman Murphy: born 1953; died November, 1999