Peter retires from The Nationalist after 48 years
'Nationalist' Editor Conal O'Boyle presents Peter Murphy (right) with a mock front page marking Peter's retirement from the newspaper after 48 years
’s sub-editor Peter Murphy has just retired after a whopping 48 years with the company.
Peter joined the newspaper in 1977 and, over the next five decades, worked in various departments, including production and the newsroom. One of the first positions required him to drive a van, but unfortunately the only driving Peter was adept at was on the fairways of Carlow Golf Club. A move into a different department meant that he avoided the need to get behind the wheel for his entire career until, just days before he officially left the newspaper, he passed his driving test.
Peter worked as a typesetter for years, but he always had a hankering to join the newsroom. His attention to detail, his ability to focus and concentrate for long periods of time and, above all, his gift for good grammar and spelling made him a brilliant sub-editor. In that role, which he continued until his retirement, he corrected articles, wrote headlines, checked for legal issues and facts.
“I love rearranging sentences and I was always very good at grammar and spelling,” said Peter. “It’s about knowing how to construct a sentence and when to turn it around. I try to eliminate jargon to make it more readable, using simpler words rather than grandiose terms.”
Peter summed up his work in this way: “Sub-editing was very rewarding because I felt I was making a worthwhile contribution to the newspaper and because I really loved what I was doing. At times, it didn’t feel like work at all, more like a labour of love.”
When asked why he stayed almost his entire career with one company, Peter replied: “I loved the camaraderie. We always had fun alongside the work. I had good colleagues and made great friends, right from the start.”
’s editor Conal O’Boyle added: “Peter was a wonderful sub and a terrific colleague. We’re going to miss him greatly in the newsroom.”
And even though he’s now retired and can focus on driving himself around to various golf clubs around the country, Peter will never lose his gift for spotting errors or his ability to write a catchy headline.
“It’s in my blood. I’ll keep an eye out on copy and headlines whenever I’m reading a paper,” he smiled.
