PROMINENT south-west Catholic priest Father John Murphy has passed away.
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Fr Murphy died in Warrnambool on Sunday, aged 93.
Fr Murphy was well known for his work at Shamrock House in Crossley.
Born in Melbourne, Fr Murphy was ordained as a priest in 1950. He was a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco order of the Australia-Pacific province.
Fr Murphy started his career as a teaching priest in Melbourne and Adelaide.
The Salesians order purchased the old Shamrock Hotel in Crossley when it closed down as a going concern in 1970.
A year later, the Salesians order opened the property as Shamrock House, an accommodation place aimed at providing schools from Melbourne with low-cost holidays.
Fr Murphy was chosen to oversee this operation.
Over the next decade, the landscape changed with an increase in demand for the amount of care and accommodation for adults in need.
This led to the decision by the Salesians order in 1984 to make meeting this need the core business of Shamrock House.
In the ensuing years, Fr Murphy and Shamrock House was a destination for those in need, with 40 people staying at the house in times of high need.
Shamrock House closed down in 2010, coinciding with Fr Murphy’s retirement.
At the time of his retirement, Fr Murphy told The Standard he was proud of the work done at Shamrock House.
“We have had a lot of people stay here over the years and have helped a large amount of people over that time,” Fr Murphy said.
“The local community from Port Fairy, Koroit and Warrnambool have been great to us, as have the Port Fairy and Koroit parishes. They have been very supportive.”
Fellow Salesians order priest Fr John Papworth said Fr Murphy will be remembered fondly.
“He was a fine leader and very much a pastoral man,” Fr Papworth said.
“He was warm, friendly and very approachable.
“It was those qualities that made him such an inspired choice to go down and set up Shamrock House. The people he helped there knew how much he cared for them and he obviously had the respect of the local community. He developed Shamrock House into a great place for those in need to seek assistance.”
