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Bristol says goodbye to Ann
BY WILLIE WHITE ,
Carlow Nationalist
A Strange silence
settled over the city of Bristol on Tuesday, May 7
2007.
Building sites were closed down and the pubs failed
to open as Bristol’s Irish community turned out en
masse for the funeral of the woman regarded as the
‘Mother Figure’ to the city’s exiles.
Hannah (Ann) Murphy was born in Clonegal, Co. Carlow
on September 26, 1949, the daughter of the late
Edward and Kathleen Murphy (nee Sullivan) of St
Brigid’s Terrace, Clonegal. She was better known
locally as Lani.
In her secondary
school days at FCJ Bunclody she proved to be a great
sportswoman. She was a keen camogie and hockey
player but was interested in all sports. In the late
1960s she joined what was likened to the ‘flight of
the Wild Geese’ with so many Irish people having to
emigrate in search of work. Ann worked in Kilburn,
London where she met and married her husband Danny.
Had she lived the couple would have celebrated their
ruby wedding anniversary later this year.
The couple moved to Bristol within a year of their
marriage and went on to run three of the city’s best
known Irish pubs, ‘The Crown and Anchor’, ‘The Black
Horse’ and the ‘Coach and Horses’. All three venues
were more than simply pubs - they were the place to
go to find a job. Ann always had her ear to the
ground when a contractor needed new recruits or when
somebody needed to regain contact when they became
estranged from their family back home.
Ann took her responsibilities as a landlady very
seriously. The fact that she was a lover of sport
and a supporter of the GAA was not surprising as her
father, better known in Clonegal as Eddie, had
played Gaelic football for Ballon, Clonegal and
Carlow in the late 30s and early 40s. She was
involved in many organisations in Bristol and
especially with the organising of the St Patrick’s
Day parade.
Coordinator of Bristol’s St Patrick’s Day parade
Amelia Dunford said: “There were several times when
someone from the Irish community died in Bristol
with no known relatives to contact. Ann would then
spring into action and try to track the family down.
If this failed and nobody was found she would make
certain they had a proper funeral even if she had to
pay every penny out of her own pocket. She was one
in a million with a heart of gold.”
Just a few weeks before she died Ann’s work within
the community was formally recognised with a special
presentation at the conclusion of this year’s
parade.
At this stage illness had taken its toll and she was
unable to take her place on the floats as in other
years.
Ann was a gifted camogie player and was one of the
founder members of and driving forces behind St
Nicholas’s GAA club. When there was no opposition
for the camogie team to face in Wales or the West
Country they claimed nine county titles. She took
her girls to play in London. On the day of her
funeral Gaels gathered outside St Patrick’s Church
in Redfield form all over the city to form a guard
of honour at the Requiem Mass. Neither was Ann
forgotten in her native Clonegal.
A large number of
residents from the village travelled by boat and
plane for her funeral and interment. She is survived
by her loving husband Danny, her children John and
Gillian, her grandchildren Katie, Collie, Hannah and
Conor, brothers Paddy and John, sisters Fran,
Maureen, Pauline, Liz, Bab, Monica and Geraldine,
aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and a huge circle of
relatives and friends.
She will be sadly missed by the Irish in Bristol and
by all who knew her for she was truly a girl with a
heart of gold. May she rest in peace.
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