Bernadette A. MURPHY

On one occasion, when she was in England for some reason, Bernadette came to stay with us. Not sure what to expect or what would be acceptable, we decided we could not go wrong with some sightseeing around our beloved Norfolk, finishing with a visit to a favourite haunt - a cafe at a rural church known as ‘the Cathedral of the Broads’. It was a lovely day, we sat outside listening to the birdsong, admiring the roses and indulging in homemade cakes and tea. Idyllic. All Bernadette could...

To understand the enigma that was Bernadette one must hark back to the 1930s and to the conservative mental attitudes of the time. This is well portrayed in J. Cooney's book "John Charles McQuaid: Ruler of Catholic Ireland" (O'Brien Press Ltd 2003). If this provides an insight then we can start to understand, and perhaps be a little sympathetic to the situation in which the Catholic Church in Ireland now finds itself. Bernie entered a religious order at a time when for many outsiders this...

dear "aunty berne!its hard to believe that she is gone....we weren.t ready to let her go,i remember growing up that when dad (her brother sean)told us that bernie is coming home we used to get so excited!and wonder what she would bring us!!....she rang our house some time ago and i answered the phone and she said hello johnny?"..i said yes??..and she said "its bernie"..i said in shock.."OH MY GOD!"..and bernie said in one quick breath...."no not god ,but very close!!"..i laughed at this so...

By writing this I am confirming to myself what I find difficult to beleive and even harder to accept.To me you were Aunty Bernie a wonderful person who I admired enormously for your achievements yet you always made time to maintain contact with family making everyone of us feel we had 100 percent of your love and attention. I feel tremendously privileged to be your neice. You always made us laugh and have fun and I know you and Mom are having a fine craic together as you did in life. The...

Bernadette was such a gifted person and she used her talents in so many ways.
Among the many memories of her, that I have, is that of a kind woman of great compassion, who had a genuine interest in each one's wellbeing. I, personally, owe so much gratitude to her for all she did for me. I will be for ever thankful. I am grateful, too, for her deep spirituality, which she shared so freely with me.
Bernadette has now earned her just reward and she is reunited with her parents, family...

Our Auntie Bernie will be missed by all who knew her.
Rest now - ...
Love always.
Keefe

Our beloved Auntie Bernie was so very special to all of her nieces and nephews. She taught many of us how to grieve with strength and pride when we lost a parent and she herself lost another sibling. Now that we must learn to grieve without her, our memories of her wit, wisdom and absolute belief in life after death are what will help us to get through the weeks, months and years ahead as we learn to adjust to a world without her. Love always Bernie. Give Dad a hug for me. Martine

You are the best, dear Bernadette. You gave your all in everything you did. You are so talented and gifted that I would not know where to begin to describe you. You had a wisdom that was beautiful and astonishing. You had a deep compassion for others even in the midst of your own suffering. Above all you had a deep, deep spirituality and an unmistakeable realization that you were totally loved by the God whom you loved with your whole heart.
Thanks for being such an authentic true...

I had the great pleasure of working for Sr. Bernadette when I was head of the Catholic Education Foundation at the Archdiocese, and she was my boss for three years, from 2000-2003. Full of mischief, wisdom, a sense of fun and a radiant smile, she helped navigate the challenges of the day with good humor, great faith in the work of the church and power of Catholic education, a wisdom of working with different (fallible) humans and a sense of the power of working with others. She was a good...