Peter Murphy (broadcaster)
Encyclopedia
Peter David Murphy was a Irish radio and television broadcaster, best known as the host of the RTÉ
's Cross Country Quiz.
, County Carlow
and was the youngest of the three children (and only son) of John and Julia Murphy. John Murphy (1877–1961) was Farm Manager at Huntington Castle, while Julia was a shop assistant in the nearby village of Clonegal. He was educated at the local national school and, later, Carnew Vocational School, before graduating to Warrenstown Agricultural College, County Meath
.
Throughout his twenties, Murphy helped form his local branch of Macra na Feirme
and became Secretary of the Regional Executive, during which time he won several medals for public speaking and debating. He also had a very active sporting life competing at minor, junior and senior level inter-county gaelic football for his native Carlow. He also played cricket and handball.
, ACC
, Nitrogen Éireann, Bank of Ireland
, Associated Livestock Marts, Farming Independent, Hygeia of Galway and Goulding Fertilisers.
Throughout the 1960s Murphy began to develop wide-ranging radio and television career with RTÉ that would last into the 1980s. Works on radio included Country Call, Meet The People and Around The Country. However, it was through television that Murphy was to become most widely recognised. His break came on the 1960s agricultural series Land Mark. This led to the roles of question-master and question-setter (and later on as adjudicator) on the joint RTE/BBC production of Cross Country Quiz. Between 1973 and 1988 Murphy compiled a total of 14 quiz books based on the programme - all of them best sellers in the year of their publication.
Murphy formally retired in 1992, but continued to accept invites as a quizmaster all over the country for many years after and continued to compile crosswords for several newspapers, including the Sunday Independent
.
He died on 3 June 2011.
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
's Cross Country Quiz.
Background and early life
He was born in Huntington, ClonegalClonegal
Clonegal, officially Clonegall , is a village in the southeast of County Carlow, Ireland. It is in a rural setting, 5 km from Bunclody, County Wexford, 22 km from Carlow and 17 km from the proposed interchange of the N9 and N80 roads at Rathcrogue. It is just over a mile north of...
, County Carlow
County Carlow
County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...
and was the youngest of the three children (and only son) of John and Julia Murphy. John Murphy (1877–1961) was Farm Manager at Huntington Castle, while Julia was a shop assistant in the nearby village of Clonegal. He was educated at the local national school and, later, Carnew Vocational School, before graduating to Warrenstown Agricultural College, County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
Throughout his twenties, Murphy helped form his local branch of Macra na Feirme
Macra na feirme
Macra na Feirme , abbreviated MnaF, is an Irish, voluntary, rural youth organisation. It was founded in 1944 by Stephen Cullinan, a rural science teacher....
and became Secretary of the Regional Executive, during which time he won several medals for public speaking and debating. He also had a very active sporting life competing at minor, junior and senior level inter-county gaelic football for his native Carlow. He also played cricket and handball.
Career
Murphy was appointed National Organiser of Macra na Feirme in 1953 and played a leading role in the formation of the National Farmers Association in 1955. His work brought him into every village and town in Ireland and he found himself being introduced as “the man who knew more people in the country than anyone else” and “the voice of rural Ireland”. This fact, together with a distinctive speaking voice, found him in demand as a presenter of Sponsored Radio Programmes, between 1961 and 1979, for a remarkable nine different companies including: Whelehans of Finglas, Irish Farmers JournalIrish Farmers Journal
The Irish Farmers Journal is a weekly farm newspaper sold in Ireland. It is the best selling farm magazine in the country selling over 70,000 copies per week...
, ACC
ACCBank
ACCBank plc is a commercial bank in Ireland that focuses on agriculture and SME lending. The bank has its origins in the Agricultural Credit Corporation set up in 1927 in the Irish Free State to finance agriculture, the bank was successful and lead to the creation of the Industrial Credit Company...
, Nitrogen Éireann, Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
, Associated Livestock Marts, Farming Independent, Hygeia of Galway and Goulding Fertilisers.
Throughout the 1960s Murphy began to develop wide-ranging radio and television career with RTÉ that would last into the 1980s. Works on radio included Country Call, Meet The People and Around The Country. However, it was through television that Murphy was to become most widely recognised. His break came on the 1960s agricultural series Land Mark. This led to the roles of question-master and question-setter (and later on as adjudicator) on the joint RTE/BBC production of Cross Country Quiz. Between 1973 and 1988 Murphy compiled a total of 14 quiz books based on the programme - all of them best sellers in the year of their publication.
Murphy formally retired in 1992, but continued to accept invites as a quizmaster all over the country for many years after and continued to compile crosswords for several newspapers, including the Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
.
Personal life
Murphy married Bridie McEvoy in 1967. They had four children and two grandchildren.He died on 3 June 2011.