After some years as curate at St. Paul's Church in Dublin he was transferred to Arklow, and was there in 1798 when the rebellion broke out. The yeomanry shot the parish priest in bed and Murray, to escape a similar fate, fled to the city where for two years he served as curate at St. Andrew’s Chapel on Hawkins Street. As a preacher, Murray is said to have been particularly effective, especially in appeals for charitable causes, such as the schools. He was then assigned to the Chapel of St. Mary in Upper Liffey Street where Archbishop John Troy was the Parish Priest.