It is with very deep regret and much sadness that I report on the sudden death of Eddie Murphy, a very good friend of Athenry AC and first cousin of myself (JAL).

I last spoke to him the evening after he'd run the Ultra in Connemara a few weeks back. He'd finished in a little over 6 hours and was enthusiastically talking about upcoming Ultra events both here in Galway and further afield. He had made very genuine progress on the roads over the previous year, culminating in a 3:42 in Dublin last October. He was genuinely talking about getting close to 3:30 in Dublin this autumn and playfully encouraging me to chase him around that day.

I was also very interested to note that he'd finally curtailed the exquisite torture - for which he was very well known on the circuit! - of wearing his beloved Tipperary Hurling jersey around all his races. (I ran my first Ballycotton back in 2002 in a standard Limerick Hurling jersey and swore never again as it weighed a tonne at the finish). That Blue and Gold jersey was his cross, it seems :-).

He was a founding member of the Boards.ie AC and wore their singlet in Connemara. A large number of his clubmates attended his funeral down in deepest East Limerick a few Saturday ago.

The West of Ireland Marathon series leg run on the morning of Monday, 25 April was dedicated to his memory. Twenty five ran and all wore a specially created Tipperary jersey singlet.

He will be deeply missed by his mother Margaret, his sisters Liz and Jean and his brothers Paddy, Jack and Thomas.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.