The Irish Examiner reports on the death last week of Matt Murphy, co-founder of the Sherkin Island Marine Station in West Cork, at the age of 89.
Matt and his late wife Eileen established the station in 1975 as a small laboratory to record data on the marine wildlife and plantlife of Cork Harbour and Bantry Bay.
Over the next 40 years, until Matt’s retirement in 2015, it grew into a large complex on a 16-acre site that included a library with 100,000 books, journals and reports, as well as a collection of marine plant specimens.
In September 2023, the Sherkin Island Marine Station published 35 years' worth of key environmental data, an initiative Matt described as "a dream come true", as previously reported on Afloat.ie.
Among those paying tribute was President Michael D Higgins, who said in a statement: “Matt and Eileen Murphy were among the first people in Ireland to draw attention to the importance of marine matters and ecological responsibility when very few opportunities to come and discuss these issues existed.
“As well as being one of the earliest and most important voices on ecological responsibility, Matt also placed an importance on taking these issues outside of the academic location and building public education.
“Whole generations have learnt of the importance of the sea, the emerging ecological crisis and respect for nature through Matt and Eileen's tireless work.”
The Irish Examiner has more HERE.
