The Portland daily press., 1892-07-30
VICAR GENERAL MURPHY DEAD.
Thrown From His Carriage and Received
Fatal Injuries.

| Yesterday noon, about u o'clock Very
Reverend Father Murphy, V. G., rector
of St. Dominic's, started from his house
for a carriage drive with Father O'Brien
of Bath. AS is well known Father
Murphy has been great invalid for over
a wear. since he received stroke of
apoplexy in Canal Bank, and at the pres
emit time was so far enfeebled that his
| death was considered a matter of but
few months hence at the longest.
Father O'Brien held the horse, while
Father Murphy was getting into the car
rage. The horse suddenly started,
either frightened at passing team, or
| from no cause whatever as he is said to
have done only a few months ago.
Father O'Brien tried to stop the animal
but he whirled on to the sidewalk over
turning the carriage, throwing Father
| Murphy to the sidewalk and dragging
| him for some distance. He was stopped
| however with the aid of Mr.. Elias
Thomas, Jr., and the injured man was
taken into his residence. He was badly
cut about the head and the blood flowed
| freely from his wounds. Several physi-
clans were quickly on the spot but his
enfeebled system was unable to bear the
shock and he died in about an hour,
soon after the rite of extreme JUNCTION
| had been administered.
Vicar General Murphy was born in a
suburb of Cork, Ireland, 50 years ago.
There were four brothers, and they all
entered the priesthood. Fir. Murphy
spent his boyhood days in the place of
his birth and when he elected to identify
himself with the priesthood he began
his preparatory studies and entered All
Hallows College in the city of Dublin.
While in his teens he came to the United
States and entered the new seminary at
Troy, N. X. It was there that he COM
| pleted his studies and in the year 1867
he was ordained a priest of the Roman
Catholic church at Portmouth, n H.,
Bishop Bacon, then bishop of Portland,
officiating. 1t may be interesting to this
divine's parishioners to know that he en-
| Joys the distinction of being the first
/ Catholic priest ordained in the Granite
| State Immediately after his ordination
/ Fir. Murphy came to Portland, and put
| forth all his energy, in connection. with
/ Bishop Bacon, in erecting the handsome
| Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
on Cumberland street, without doubt
one of the handsomest and most costly
church edifices in the State of Maine.
For five years FIR. Murphy spent his time
in Portland between the two parishes of
this city, and was then sent into the
northern part Of the State of New Hamp-
shire. He had an unusually large num-
Der of missions abont fifteen in all. and
including Laconia. In fact he was the
first priest resident there. Be-
sides Laconia he officiated at West Leb-
anon, Lebanon, Hanover, Franklin, Ash
land and other towns and villages. He
was greatly beloved in that section and
labored zealously in behalf of his
parishioners. He remained there until
1892 when he went to Bangor, and in that
thriving city he left a fitting memorial
of his industry-the handsome ST. Mary S
church. which is the pride of the Queen
City of the East 1t is an ornamental
structure of gothic design, and is of
brick. with stone trimmings. The
corner stone was laid in 1872 by Bishop
Bacon, but that eminent prelate did not
live to see it finished. 1t was dedicated
in 1874 by Very Rev. Fir. Barry. The de
dicatory sermon was preached by the
celebrated Bishop Lynch, of Charleston,
| S. c., one of the greatest preachers of
the South.
| FIR. Murphy left Bangor in 1880, and
came to Portland and assumed the ardu-
GUS duties of the rector of the cathedral,
succeeding Fr. Bradley, the present
bishop of Manchester. He remained
here but short time and then made an
extended trip through Europe, visiting
the Vatican and the capitals of the Old
World Upon his return to America he
went to Augusta where he presided over
the parishes of Augusta and Hallowell.
While there be formed the acquaintance
of MI. Blaine and his family, and the
friendship of the Secretary of State to-
wards the Vicar General of Maine has
always been warm.
In 1884 Bishop Healy raised FIR. Muir
ply to the office of Vicar General of the
Portland See. This was after the divi-
sion of the diocese of Maine and New
Hampshire, Very Rev. Fir. Barry re-
naming Vicar General of the latter
diocese. FIR Murphy was then appointed
| pastor of ST. Dominic's which had
stood for half century in Portland.
He then conceived the idea of building
a new edifice. His efforts in that direc-
ton are fresh in the minds of the citi-
zens of Portland, and the handsome new
ST. Dominic's bears witness to the sue
cess of his arduous efforts, but they
shattered his health. But the fine
church is there and it is perhaps not
generally known that the sum of $50, 900,