The funeral of Mr Michael Pat Murphy (81), who served as a Labour TD in the Dail between 1951 and 1981, will take place this afternoon after Requiem Mass in his native Schull, Co Cork.
Mr Murphy died last Saturday at the South Infirmary Hospital in Cork. An undoubted force in west Cork politics, Mr Murphy was several times chairman of Cork County Council, continuing his family's connection with the local authority since its foundation more than a century ago. A colourful politician, he is remembered by colleagues as a natural vote-getter whose personality crossed party lines.
Paying tribute to him, the Fine Gael Cork South West TD, Mr Jim O'Keeffe, said: "When I served with him from 1977 to 1981, after being elected to the Dail for the first time, I regarded him as something of a father figure, as he took an interest in my political career despite the fact that we were in different parties.
"I think you could say of him that he was a friend of the poor and respected by the well-off."
Mr O'Keeffe recalled that in the 1970s, when Labour was "supposed to be socialist", party headquarters sent pink posters to west Cork, but Mr Murphy was having none of that. "As usual, he went his own way with his usual poster, a black-and-white photograph with the legend `No 1 - Murphy.' It was simple but highly effective, because in 30 years he was never defeated as a Dail candidate."
After retiring from national politics in 1981, Mr Murphy continued to serve as a member of Cork County Council for a number of years. He is survived by his wife, Hettie; sons Michael Pat jnr, Tim, John James and Edward Thomas; and daughters Gabriel and Kate Ann, wife of the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue.