THE loss of Dr David Murphy has left a void not just in the world of medicine but also in the sporting world as he was the honorary medical officer to eventing as well as many point-to-point meetings in the Cork area.

Born into a medical family, David’s father was a GP in Cheshire and this is where he was introduced to horses and ponies at the tender age of five. As a boy, David attended Downside where he was educated by the Jesuit Fathers. Summers were spent in west Cork with his uncle and aunt Dan and Elizabeth Twomey, who were the local dispensary doctors.

On leaving school, David returned to Ireland to study medicine in UCC. While there his love of all things connected with the horse returned and he joined Blarney Equestrian Centre where he met his future wife, Mary Hanly, a native of Limerick. Mary was also a student in UCC at the time where she studied arts.

Upon completion of his internship, David worked at the Royal Macclesfield Hospital in the UK while Mary worked as a teacher. They then returned to Cork to commence general practice in Cork City. As a one-man practice, Mary acted as her husband’s receptionist and constant helper. He retired from general practice in 2012 when he joined the Department of Social Protection as a Medical Assessor until September 2019. He continued to work in forensic medicine at the South Infirmary Hospital in Cork.

All the while his connection with the horse world blossomed and he hunted for many years, mainly with the Killeady Harriers. David enjoyed many a great day riding his beloved Charlie who always looked after him in the field. Charlie came from his great friends the Fell family in Ballindenisk.

David gave his time gladly and generously acting as medical officer to as many equestrian events as time allowed while Mary would have officiated as judge and carried out other related roles. They have two boys, Donacha who is a partner in the legal practice of Barry C. Galvin while Cathal, a keen event rider, is the nominations manager in nearby Castlehyde.

A caring doctor to the last, even in his final illness as a patient in Marymount, he continued to look after his patients.

While his loss will be sorely felt by his many friends and former patients, it is Mary and the boys who will, of course, miss him most. To them we offer our sincere condolences. In any walk of life, people of the calibre of Dr David Murphy do not often pass this way.

DP