Fr Martin Murphy was born on 14th April 1929 at Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. He was educated at Glenbrien NS, CBS Enniscorthy, and St Peter’s College, Wexford.
He came to Dalgan in September 1948 and was ordained priest on 21 December 1954.
Appointed to the Philippines in 1955, he was assigned to the northern Luzon Diocese of Lingayen in the province of Pangasinan, where the Columbans had worked in parishes since 1933 because of a grave shortage of priests there.
Lingayen is 200kms north of Manila. The major language there and in the province is Pangasinan, also known as Pangasinense.
The first Columbans who worked in Pangasinan laboured to encourage the people to return to the practice of the faith, to rebuild churches and parish houses, and to set up schools. They were blessed to be helped in this last endeavor, and in the preparation of catechists, by the presence of the Columban Sisters.
In this setting Martin was to spend the next forty years. He served at various times as parish priest or curate in Lingayen, Sual, Domalandan, Naguelguel and Labrador.
Always quiet and conscientious, he was as gentle as the people that he served and was greatly appreciated by them.
He was reassigned to Ireland in 1996. He was a quiet but active member of the community, interested in, and informed about all that happened in Dalgan.
As his health deteriorated in 2019, he moved to the Nursing Home until his death on 12 December 2020.
May he rest in peace
