From sleeping rough to city councillor

BERNIE Murphy’s life was a rollercoaster featuring extreme poverty and celebrity status.

Born in 1935, his early days were spent in poorhouses and sleeping rough.

Work usually meant putting on a sandwich board and advertising something or other on the streets of Cork.

Tongue-in-cheek, he liked to refer to himself an “advertising executive”.

Murphy hit the big time in June 1985 when he caused a political sensation by being elected to the city council.

It had been widely rumoured that a group of solicitors had helped to bankroll Murphy’s campaign.

The betting on Murphy had opened at 50/1, but had plummeted to 9/4 the day before the election.

Cashman’s bookmakers took a £20,000 hit, with a number of payouts to people in the legal profession.

In 1987 Murphy made an unsuccessful run for the General Election in two constituencies.

One of his election posters declared: “Murphy, the People’s Champion... Here’s up ‘em all!”

He polled just 441 first preference votes in Cork South Central and was eliminated on the first count.

He did slightly better in Cork North Central with 684 votes and survived until the sixth count.

The bookies breathed a huge sign of relief.

The previous year Murphy made a highly controversial visit to San Francisco, following a invitation from a local newspaper columnist, Warren Hinckle.

There were serious concerns expressed by fellow councillors that Murphy wouldn’t present the kind of image they wanted in the States.

His visit was given coast-to-coast coverage by CNN and he took it upon himself to promote Murphy’s Irish stout.

Mr Murphy also addressed 200 people at an American Bar Association function. His speech lasted 30 seconds.

During the visit he got new false teeth, claiming the then Southern Health Board wouldn’t provide them.

The board responded a few days later by saying Murphy had failed to attend a vital dental appointment the previous month.