Josephine, also referred to as Joan Murphy, born on March 10th, 1933 to November 28th, 2023, was an exceptional individual, serving as a symbol for the unfortunately unappreciated and overlooked Irish women of the mid-20th century. These were women endowed with intelligence and capability but were frequently deprived of career opportunities or higher education access. However, Joan was lucky with the sole avenue accessible to her – marriage into a suitable family.
Her birthplace was Dungarvan, Co Waterford in 1933, as the second child in a bustling household of five, the Fitzgeralds. Their homestead had a dynamic blend of commerce and agrarian activities, associated with numerous kins residing in the nearby farms.
The advent of President Mary Robinson’s era in 1990 signified a crucial and validating episode in Joan’s life. In her speech, President Robinson addressed the ‘Women of Ireland’ or “Mná na hÉireann”, emphasising her desire for the women who found themselves excluded from history to be acknowledged and written back into it.
Being declined a scholarship by her father at the young age of 16 to University College Cork is an indication of Joan’s history. Just like many other women of Ireland at the time, this denial was on the pretext that women vying for a career was inutile. Instead, she started working at the Provincial Bank. In 1955, she was based at the Provincial head office at College Street, Dublin. This was not extraordinary in those days; her work designation was simply a “computer”. She was responsible for reconciling the income and expenditure books until they matched at the end of work each day, and she was unable to leave the premises until the books were balanced. Upon her engagement announcement, as was the custom, the bank manager arranged her sendoff occasion.
Her ultimate departure from the bank was triggered by her meeting and subsequently marrying Kevin Murphy. He had recently begun working as the assistant county medical officer in Dungarvan. Through her mother’s bridge club, she met Kevin and their relationship started. Over the next three decades, Joan devoted her energy and time to her family, tailing Kevin’s escalating career in public health, from Dungarvan to Donegal and ultimately to Dublin.
Despite the observation that her intellectual potential was often not fully utilised, there was ongoing friction that she never truly reconciled. To her, education held significant value, and Tara Westover’s novel, Educated, made a profound impact on her. The sentiments expressed in Westover’s book reflected her passionate belief in the power of education, which she described as a transformation that motivated her decisions and drove the woman she became.
Joan was known for her insatiable appetite for reading, which extended to all genres. She kept up to date with world events through various publications, initially subscribing to Time magazine. However, she later switched to Le Point, a French-centred English language weekly, due to its less American bias. This open-minded woman was progressive, subtly yet vehemently backing pivotal social issues like access to contraception and the right to divorce.
In an unexpected move, she declined an offer by the parish priest in Donegal for her two boys to serve as altar boys. She chose to utilise her time volunteering as an advisor at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau in Blackrock after she gained more free time in her 50s. She continued her passion for bridge from Dungarvan and emerged as a competent club player. Uniquely, she enjoyed the strategic and mathematical aspect of the game, estimating the likelihood of each player holding specific cards.
From a young age, Joan was affected by otosclerosis, a genetically inherited hearing impairment. This necessitated the use of dual hearing aids, as well as the need to adeptly lip-read and select her location in any room carefully for optimal hearing. Despite these challenges, Joan often revealed her playful and jesting personality during intimate encounters.
Sadly, the last year of her life was marred by dementia. She was in a devoted marital bond with Kevin for 53 years. Their love resulted in three children – Susan, Philip, and Andrew – and has been immortalised by their eight surviving grandchildren.