John Murphy: Civil servant at eye of the Shannon storm

LAST Saturday, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey received an unexpected weekend call from a senior official in his department.

That official was John Murphy, who told him that he had failed to forward a memo to him around the time of his appointment as minister that would have made him aware Shannon Airport was in danger of losing its slots.

Mr Murphy, now at the eye of the ‘ShannonGate’ storm, is one of six assistant secretaries in transport.