Death of Dunshaughlin native Salesian, Fr Aidan Murray

Memorial Mass in local church on Saturday evening

Fr Aidan Murray, the last surviving member of the family of the late Peadar and Margaret Murray of the former Murray's public house in the village, has died in England where he was a member of the Salesian Order. He was aged 96.

Aidan was the youngest of nine children born to Peter and Margaret Murray. He joined the Salesian Order who operated out of Warrenstown College and was ordained a priest on St Patrick's Day 1962, serving initially in Malta before being posted to the UK where he spent most of his career mentoring and teaching youths from difficult backgrounds, which he loved. After retiring from teaching, Aidan took on the onerous task of parish priest of Gloucester eventually retiring at 88 years.

Although he spent all his religious life abroad, Aidan retained a keen interest in all things associated with the village. He took particular interest in all the old photographs of the village which regularly appeared in dispatches and are part of his father’s social legacy which is now curated by Meath County Council and were published in book form.

Aidan’s funeral took place on Tuesday the 7th July in Farnborough, Kent,where he is interred close to Fr Dan Donoghue and Fr Des O’Riordan who were also from the Dunshaughlin-Culmullen parish. A Mass will be celebrated in memory of Fr Aidan at 7pm on Saturday 11th July in the Church of Ss Patrick and Sechnall, Dunshaughlin.