John Murphy (contractor)
Encyclopedia
John Murphy moved from his native Ireland
to London
with very little money but became one of the richest men in the country. His company, J. Murphy & Sons, based in Kentish Town
, with its green vans and lorries, works on building sites all over the country. His late brother, Joe also went into construction and used grey vehicles.
His worth was recently estimated at about £190 million. Unlike many other wealthy men he spent little on luxuries and preferred to spent time with his own workmen and other Irish friends.
. He left school at 15 but found work hard to come by. He travelled to London and started up as a subcontractor in the building trade. The Second World War offered him a golden opportunity. New airfields were urgently needed and later on runway repairs were needed also. He was successful in providing this service and at end of the war was well placed to help with large-scale reconstruction. Other ventures included electrification
, cable installation, water facilities and road-building.
In the 1970s a specialist division of the company worked on the development of natural gas
. Later projects included the Stansted Airport
Rail Link, work in the City of London
, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
and London’s Olympic Park.
In 2007 J Murphy and Sons generated nearly £500 million of revenue and made pre-tax profits of £60 million. It was recently appointed lead contractor in the £125 million Liverpool
-Manchester
water pipeline project, which is to carry up to 100 million litres of water per day.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with very little money but became one of the richest men in the country. His company, J. Murphy & Sons, based in Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
, with its green vans and lorries, works on building sites all over the country. His late brother, Joe also went into construction and used grey vehicles.
His worth was recently estimated at about £190 million. Unlike many other wealthy men he spent little on luxuries and preferred to spent time with his own workmen and other Irish friends.
Biography
Murphy was born at Loughmark, near Cahersiveen, County KerryCounty Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. He left school at 15 but found work hard to come by. He travelled to London and started up as a subcontractor in the building trade. The Second World War offered him a golden opportunity. New airfields were urgently needed and later on runway repairs were needed also. He was successful in providing this service and at end of the war was well placed to help with large-scale reconstruction. Other ventures included electrification
Electrification
Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...
, cable installation, water facilities and road-building.
In the 1970s a specialist division of the company worked on the development of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
. Later projects included the Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport
-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
Rail Link, work in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
High Speed 1 , officially known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and originally as the Continental Main Line , is a high-speed railway line running from London through Kent to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.The line was built to carry international passenger traffic from the United Kingdom...
and London’s Olympic Park.
In 2007 J Murphy and Sons generated nearly £500 million of revenue and made pre-tax profits of £60 million. It was recently appointed lead contractor in the £125 million Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
-Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
water pipeline project, which is to carry up to 100 million litres of water per day.