Death of Bishop Donal Murray
Statement of Archbishop Dermot Farrell

I am greatly saddened by the news of the death of the Bishop Emeritus of Limerick, Donal Murray. Bishop Donal was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Dublin on 22nd May 1966, and having completed his postgraduate studies in Rome, he returned to the Diocese in 1969.

His students in Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, and in the Mater Dei Institute of Education still speak of his wonderful lectures in moral theology. A widely-published theologian, Donal had the gift of getting to the core of a question. He will be remembered for his insightful and helpful contributions to documents such as Share the Good News. He had a keen interest in the relationship between faith and culture and was instrumental in the establishment of the Faith and Culture Centre in Maynooth College.

He was ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin and Titular Bishop of Glendalough on 18th April 1982, and served in that role until his installation as Bishop of Limerick on 24th March 1996. In December 2009, he resigned as Bishop of Limerick, out of his sense of the needs of the survivors of abuse, and of the Church in Ireland as a whole. In his own words, to remain on would “create difficulties for some of the survivors who must have first place in our thoughts and prayers”. This decision necessitated both courage and strength. Like Christ, he was more concerned about the little ones, the most vulnerable, than about himself, his reputation, or his position. As Bishop of Limerick he was an agent of change and put the best safeguarding practices in place in the Diocese. By doing so he greatly lowered the risk of further abuse in the Church.

I offer my personal sympathies and prayers to his family, to the priests, religious, friends, and to the many people whose lives he touched throughout his 54 years of priestly and episcopal ministry. We ask the Lord to grant him eternal rest.

I ask that the priests, religious and the faithful of the Archdiocese of Dublin and all those who knew Bishop Murray to join with me in praying for the repose of the soul of this faithful shepherd and a person who followed Christ with all his heart.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.