THE death took place in Dublin yesterday of Irish Times journalist Christina Murphy who was a pioneer of educational coverage in the newspaper and one of the country's leading commentators on education issues.
She was a duty editor of The Irish Times, editor of the Education and Living supplement and a former education correspondent of the newspaper. She joined the staff as women's editor and before that had been the editor off Young Citizen magazine, the Institute of Public Administration, publication.
She was a member of the interim local radio commission, An Coimisiun Raidio Aitiuil, set up in the mid 1980s to plan and organise local and community radio, and was author of two books on careers, Careers and Living 1 and 2 and another guide to the education system, School Report.
Christina Murphy had overall responsibility for the education coverage in The Irish Times. She developed the education services section, the first in any Irish newspaper, which organises the annual Higher Options careers exhibition and conference - due to begin on Wednesday in Dublin - the Music in the Classroom musical programme, the biennial Harvard The Irish Times colloquium and the Trinity College The Irish Times debate.
Born in Breaffy, near Castlebar Co Mayo, in 1941, she was educated at the local national school and the Convent of Mercy, Castlebar. After school she worked for three years in Germany and two years in Spain before returning to Ireland to take an arts degree in history and politics at University College, Dublin.
While she worked to put herself through college in a series of jobs including waitressing, she also took an active part in college life and was editor of the student newspaper, Campus.
For five years she was editor of Young Citizen, the current affairs magazine for schools, and her abiding interest in education developed at that stage. She joined The Irish Times as women's editor in 1972 and a few years later became education correspondent. During her period as women's editor she changed the whole thrust of women's page coverage, concentrating on health, rights and family issues.
As education correspondent she pioneered a new style of education coverage, delivering a much needed consumer oriented service to students and their parents, as well as writing for teachers and policy makers. Her contribution to education coverage was recognised in 1981 when she received the main award in the national press awards for her series Education for What?
She wrote widely on examinations, the points system, college entry and careers. The Points Race, column, which she started in 1983 to help students applying for college places, was so incisive and, comprehensive that even officials of the Department of Education had to consult her on the intricacies of the recently introduced points system in the early days.
In conjunction with the series, which ran each September, she provided a telephone help line for parents and students. Her last article in this year's Points Race series appeared last Friday, exposing problems with the accreditation of third level courses in a Co Donegal college.
She was the first editor of the weekly Working and Living supplement and later became editor of the Education and Living supplement, to which she contributed a weekly advice column for students and parents.
Christina Murphy was constantly in demand as a speaker on education topics and careers and, as often as work permitted, accepted invitations to speak at parent/teacher meetings, careers con and school prizegivings.
In 1979, she wrote a booklet, The Newspaper in the Classroom, to highlight the way newspapers could be used in classroom situations. This led to the production of a regular Newspaper in the Classroom and from there developed the education services section of The Irish Times.
In 1987, she was promoted from assistant editor to duty editor in the editor's office, the first woman to hold such a senior position.
In spite of an underlying serious illness, she had lived a very full and normal life, professionally and privately, for many years.
She is survived by her husband, Mr Dermot Mullane, executive editor, RTE News, their son Eric (15), her parents Mr Thomas and Mrs Dora Murphy, her sisters Evelyn, Concepta and Dora and her brothers Thomas and Noel.
The funeral will take place from St Vincent's Hospital to Sandford Parish Church tomorrow evening, arriving at 5 p.m. Burial will take place following an ecumenical service at 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday.