Lest We Forget
Sister Carmel Murphy, CSJP (1921-2009)
Johannah Murphy (Sister Carmel) was born on April 25, 1921 in Ballyfoyle, Co Kilkenny, the youngest of nine children of John and Catherine Murphy. She is survived by her sister Dympna. Johannah left Ireland for Rearsby on February 10, 1952 to enter with the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace. Her two sisters, Sister Xavier and Sister Dympna had already joined two other Congregations, the Sisters of Mercy and the Little Company of Mary. In 1954 Carmel made her First Profession of Vows and made her Final Profession in August 1957.
Sister Carmel qualified as a State Registered Nurse in Dollis Hill, London. Her care of the sick took many and varied forms. She served in St Hugh’s Nursing Home, Cleethorpes and thus began many years of dedicated and outstanding ministry to the sick. She spent some time in Scotland at St Charles Residential Home and School for people with special needs. She also spent some years ministering in Mount Carmel Convalescent Home, Rothesay. She worked tirelessly and with great compassion to ensure that all in her care received the best possible medical attention. She showed great patience and compassion on all occasions and with a very ready smile she endeared herself to the patients, elderly people and those with special needs whom she served.
Carmel always claimed that her happiest and most fulfilling ministry was in our Nursing Home in Cleethorpes. She loved nursing the sick, especially those recovering from operations. She was an exceptional and outstanding nurse, completely and wholeheartedly self giving. When the Nursing Home closed in 1978 Carmel took a sabbatical and spent one year in Maynooth, where she did a course in Theology. This proved a very special and wonderful experience for Carmel. She had the time and opportunity to enrich her own spiritual life and the highlights of the course were the lectures on the Gospels and the time for reflection.
Following her sabbatical she went to our House of Prayer in Grimsby. This ministry gave her the opportunity to put into practice the deep spiritual foundation of her sabbatical and together with her natural gifts of charm, compassion, humour and hospitality she certainly enriched the lives of those who came to the House of Prayer.
Eventually Carmel felt drawn to return to caring for sick people and she volunteered to help at Haywood House Hospice in Nottingham. She had a great gift of relating with people and she loved the company of others. She felt a deep compassion for housebound and lonely people and within a short time she became involved with St Vincent de Paul Society in her local parish. She enthusiastically took on ministry to the sick and housebound in St Augustine’s Parish in Nottingham and this was a busy but happy time for Carmel. She did a training course in Catechetics and Pastoral Counselling in order to bring professional expertise to this sacred ministry. She spoke with great affection about her ministry with the Nottingham people and they in turn spoke of the great love, care, peace and joy she brought to the many sick and lonely people in the area.
Throughout her life Carmel was a prayerful compassionate member of the community and she will be well remembered for her wonderful sense of hospitality. She had a great love and interest in all her family members and they were very close to her.
In February 2008 Sister Carmel, due to failing health retired to Tabor, where she received excellent care from the Staff and Social Services and prayerful support from the Community to help her on the sacred journey to God. She died peacefully on Friday December 11, 2009 just as morning Mass had ended.
Carmel’s life on earth is over and we pray that she is now enjoying the love and care of God who was always at the centre of her life and whom she served so faithfully and so well.
May she rest in peace.