Jack Murphy initially describes his family background and growing up in Curraveigh. He explains that the home farm was a short distance from Derrylea, and was run by his brother Patsy until his retirement. Their uncle and aunt lived in the townland of Corraveigh, and his brother Jim ran a garage there. On 21 April 1974, Jim Murphy was murdered at his business premises in what was thought to be a reprisal for the shooting of Master George Saunderson in Teemore. The Murphy brothers and Jack’s wife Josie recall that fateful night when the local priest and the doctor arrived at the house to break the dreadful news. Jack describes his disappointment at the lack of a proper investigation by the RUC into his brother’s death, and Josie recalls the hateful letter which arrived in the post on the morning of the funeral of her brother-in-law. She also describes the British checkpoint which was situated 100 yards from their house, and the intimidation she, Jack and their seven children suffered at the hands of the security forces. She explains that Jim Murphy was always a civil rights supporter and was not a member of the IRA, and the family feels that his death was used for political gain; however, they are pleased that local people honoured him by marking his grave. Josie recalls her fear at this time that her own sons would become involved in the conflict following their uncle’s death, but this did not transpire. Jack explains that in the aftermath of the killing, he found three live bullets at his brother’s garage which he handed over to solicitor Frank McManus. He describes his experiences of being stopped at checkpoints while driving his commercial truck, and on two occasions being stopped by a subversive group at their checkpoint. He also recalls the lawlessness which prevailed during this time, when gunshots could regularly be heard coming from all sides locally.
This collection, carried out by Irish Life and Lore on behalf of Cavan County Library Service, is funded by the EU Special EU Programmes Body Peace IV fund under the objective to build positive relations with people from different backgrounds and communities to support peace and reconciliation.
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