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Portrait artist: Edward McGuire (Oil on canvass)
Born: 1915 | Died: 1997
Thomas Murphy was born near Bunclody, Co Wexford, in 1915 and received his early secondary education at Patrician Brothers College, Tullow, and later at Clongowes Wood College.
He entered UCD in 1934 and after a brilliant undergraduate career, he graduated in medicine with first class honours in 1939.
War precluded the possibility of Thomas studying abroad and, following the customary junior hospital appointments, he obtained a postgraduate qualification in Public Health.
Subsequently, he became Medical Officer for Bord na Mona from 1943 to 1948, Assistant Medical Officer of Health, Co Kildare and then he moved to the Department of Health in 1951.
In 1955, he was appointed to the new Chair of Social and Preventative Medicine in UCD and immediately became known as a stimulating teacher, an able Director of research and an excellent administrator and his research earned him an MD Degree on published work.
Within seven years of his professional appointment, he was elected Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in 1962 and in 1964 he was appointed by the Governing Body of UCD as Registrar and in 1972 the NUI (National University of Ireland) Senate appointed him President of UCD.
Thomas was the first President to administer UCD from its new campus at Belfield. Among significant developments accomplished during his Presidency was the crucial role he played in the entry as recognised colleges within the NUI system of the principal teacher-training Colleges in 1975 and the RCSI in 1977, which enabled their students to obtain NUI Degrees.
Thomas Murphy graduated from UCD School of Medicine in 1939.