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Arthur Murphy (4 June 1928 – 7 February 2019) was an Irish television and radio broadcaster. He was best known for presenting ''
Mailbag ''Mailbag'' is an Irish TV programme which was presented by Arthur Murphy and broadcast on RTÉ One for a fourteen-year period, from 1982 to 1996. The presentation, which was initially 10 minutes in length, dealt with viewers letters concern ...
''.


Early life

Murphy was born in
East Wall East Wall () is an inner city area of the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Built on reclaimed ground in the 1820s, the area is also 30 minutes walk from Dublin's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street. Location East Wall is bounded by West Road to t ...
,
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, the elder of two sons born to Jack and Mary Murphy. He attended Saint Columba's National School by North Strand Church. He entered
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
and completed a four-year honours degree course in Modern history and Political Science graduating in 1949 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and then the Higher Diploma in Education. He was also a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
.


Career


Abroad

In addition to singing, Murphy played piano and
church organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...
. Following graduation from university, he moved to London to pursue a singing career and supported himself with a job as a school master. Hearing about a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television series, '' Music for You'', he contacted the office of its presenter, conductor and producer, Eric Robinson who gave him an audition for the chorus, then offered him solo spots in the series. During the series, Murphy performed with Italian opera singer Benamino Gigli and
Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann (né Helpman) (9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (no ...
. In 1957, Murphy was given a recording contract by
George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...
of
Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
, and Murphy turned to singing big pop ballads. In the same year he married Patricia. In 1960 Murphy went to the US to guest on the
Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days ...
show and toured the North America in 1961. During this visit, Murphy guested on
Rick Campbell Rick Campbell (born December 20, 1970) is an American-Canadian professional football coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the Calgary Stampeders' defensive coordinator ...
's '' Better Late Show'' and on the Elwood Glover show on
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
.


Ireland

He returned to Dublin when Ireland announced its own state television service. Murphy auditioned for
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
television and became presenter of its first chat show, '' Visitors Book''. He also became a producer/director, directing news and producing a weekly music show, ''Just For You''. Oriole Records label offered him a recording contract but changed his name to Mark Dwayne. With this label he had hits with " Remember Me Huh!" and " Little Bitty Heart". To promote these records he performed on
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...
's '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'' in the UK, which was similar to the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
''.


Abroad

Murphy then took up offers from UK television stations
Westward Television Westward Television was the first ITV franchise-holder for the South West of England. It held the franchise from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward Television provided a popular, distinctive and highly reg ...
and
Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited. However, in 1966, during the application pr ...
which covered the south west and south of England, as anchorman on their respective nightly magazine programmes '' Westward Diary'' and ''Day by Day''. At Westward he presented with
Desmond Wilcox Desmond John Wilcox (21 May 1931 – 6 September 2000) was a British television producer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and television executive. He worked at the BBC and ITV during his career and was producer of series such as '' This Wee ...
a documentary on the
Tolpuddle Martyrs The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who were arrested and tried in 1834 for swearing a secret oath as members of a friendly society. Led by George Loveless, the group had ...
. Once more Murphy moved to Manchester as anchor on BBC's nightly news magazine ''
Look North ''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England: * ''BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria), BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region * ''BBC Look North (Y ...
'' which then covered the north of England. Before joining Westward, Murphy had guested as a singer on ATV television's series ''Music Shop'' with
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
. In the late 1960s, record producer
Denis Preston Sidney Denis Preston (''né'' Prechner, 16 November 1916 – 21 October 1979) was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic. He was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiffl ...
invited him to come up with a concept for an album of Irish songs which resulted in ''
A Nation Once Again "A Nation Once Again" is a song written in the early to mid-1840s by Thomas Osborne Davis (1814–1845). Davis was a founder of Young Ireland, an Irish movement whose aim was for Ireland to gain independence from Britain. Davis believed that son ...
'', each song representing a period of
Irish history The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 34,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of ''Homo sapiens'' to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Qua ...
. In 1967,
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
received Murphy in a half-hour private audience in which he congratulated him for being an unofficial ambassador for his country. Following a concert appearance with comedian Dave Allen at London's
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, Murphy starred on BBC television's series '' Dee Time'' presented by
Simon Dee Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd (28 July 1935 – 29 August 2009), better known by his stage name Simon Dee, was a British television interviewer and radio disc jockey who hosted a twice-weekly BBC TV chat show, ''Dee Time'', in the late 1960s. Aft ...
. In 1974, he joined
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Radio City as their first presenter on air with ''The Breakfast Show''. He also hosted programmes like ''Midday with Murphy'' and ''Downtown''. He stayed for nearly three years but, with a second son, felt it was more important to spend time with his family.


Ireland

Back permanently in Dublin he continued presenting and producing sponsored programmes for clients such as
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
and
Johnson Wax S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (commonly referred to as S. C. Johnson) is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation, privately held manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, ...
as well as presenting programmes for RTÉ's new station, RTÉ Radio 2. Then in 1982 RTÉ offered him a 10-minute weekly filler slot titled ''
Mailbag ''Mailbag'' is an Irish TV programme which was presented by Arthur Murphy and broadcast on RTÉ One for a fourteen-year period, from 1982 to 1996. The presentation, which was initially 10 minutes in length, dealt with viewers letters concern ...
'' for 3 weeks. The programme which dealt with viewers letters concerning programmes was extended to 6 weeks. Before the year was out it had become a half-hour show going out on both of RTÉ's television channels. Finally it ended 14 years later. However, Murphy continued to use the ''Mailbag'' concept into the 2010s, complete with postmodern ironic touch, with his regular "E-mail Bag" segments on
Today FM Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a licen ...
radio's ''
The Ray D'Arcy Show ''The Ray D'Arcy Show'' is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Ray D'Arcy, originally broadcast on Irish commercial radio station Today FM from the late 1990s until 2014 before transferring in February 201 ...
''. In early 2015 Arthur moved with Ray D'Arcy's team to RTÉ and he continued to present the weekly mailbag slot in the afternoon on RTÉ Radio 1. Murphy lived in Dublin with his wife Patricia up until her death on 2 April 2016. He pursued several interests, including in broadcasting.


Death

Arthur Murphy's death was announced by
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
News on 8 February 2019, he was 90-years-old.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Arthur J. 1928 births 2019 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish male organists Male organists Irish male pianists Broadcasters from Dublin (city) Radio personalities from the Republic of Ireland RTÉ 2fm presenters RTÉ television presenters The Ray D'Arcy Show 20th-century Irish organists 20th-century Irish male musicians 21st-century Irish organists 21st-century Irish male musicians 20th-century Irish pianists 21st-century Irish pianists