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GAZETTF
OCTOBER 1992
Obituaries
Leo Ryan and Declan Murphy, R.I.P.
Leo Ryan - R.I.P.
The tragic death of Leo Ryan on
August 4, 1992 at age 25 cut short a
legal career poised for distinction.
" L e o was a talented lawyer",
"idealistic and principled",
"engaging with a fine sense of
humour" were only a few of the
encomiums of him expressed when
his accidental death on Lough Derg
shocked the profession.
Leo took his law degree at University
College Cork where he enjoyed
considerable success and where he
quickly became popular with
students and staff at the law faculty.
He signed his Indentures of
Apprenticeship with James Reilly &
Son, Clonmel, but prior to
beginning his vocational training, he
travelled extensively throughout
Europe and on his return he
assumed his elected position of Vice
President of the Students Union at
UCC. He was well respected in this
post and went to great lengths to
ensure that underprivileged students
especially got his best attention.
As a lawyer in practice, Leo showed
that he had a penetrating intelligence
and a quick mind. He was attentive
to evidence and governed by reason.
His advice to clients and colleagues
was both profound and wise. His
conversations were often a
combination of the rational and the
dramatic but also reflected a rich
background of culture and learning.
His passionate side interest was
creative writing, gusty and elegant,
which demonstrated his excellent
command of English and French
and which he intended to develop
further.
Leo was basically liberal, but
unscathed by radicalism or frenzy.
He thought things out free from the
compulsion to conform. His
colleagues were always fetched by his
candour and were endlessly
entertained by his opinions which
were refreshing, yet serious, prodding
and tickling, perhaps even
controversial at times, always seeking
to re-evaluate the favourite nostrums
of the hour. His dignity was genuine,
his idealism reasonable. He loved his
family and had a strong sense of
duty, of loyalty, of honesty and of
courage. He was warm hearted and
generous.
If one word could describe some of
the images which remain of Leo -
the gladiatorial flair, the concern
wtih fairness and justice, the
honesty, the friendship and the
incredible courage, it might be
gallant. Gallantry would even apply
to his irrepressible wit, for with his
exceptional command of French, he
would be the first to report that the
word gallant comes from the old
French verb that means to "make
merry".
While the sense of his loss is
unrelenting, it is the price to be paid
for the example Leo set for us, for
what he taught us about life and for
the sheer joy of having had him
among us. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a
anam dilis.
TN
Declan Murphy R.I.P.
The untimely death of Declan
Murphy on 4 August, 1992 sent
shock waves through the
communities of Roscrea and
Templemore. His large funeral was a
testament and fitting final salute to a
popular young man who met with a
tragic death as a result of a boating
accident.
He had a distinguished life.
Educated at CBC Monkstown and
CBS Roscrea he developed a love for
sport, helping the local RFC Club
win their first accolades on the field.
Declan went on to study Law at
UCC where he graduated with a
BCL Degree. While in college he
developed what was to be a fearless
pursuit in the ideal of justice and
stood as a candidate in the 1982
General Election for the constituency
of Cork North Central.
Declan's versatility took him on to
other fields and while travelling in
Germany, Australia and the USA he
developed his other passion and
became an instructor in the Boston
Harbour Sailing Club.
However, he was never deflected
from his ultimate ideal in the pursuit
of a career in law and returned to
Ireland becoming an apprentice in
the firm of Nash, McDermott & Co.
of Templemore.
Declan was to show that he was not
a dry academic or a book in
breeches. He had a subtle sense of
humour and wit. He charmed with
an endless fund of anecdotes
garnered from his experiences.
He will be sadly missed by his
family and friends.
PD
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Correspondence
(Continued from page 321)
is, I believe, mis-informed and any
further diminution in the rights of
such lenders is likely to lead to a
further withdrawal of funds from
industry with a consequential rise in
unemployment.
Yours etc,
William Johnston,
Solicitor,
41-45 St.Stephen's Green,
Dublin 2.
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