Murphy, Richard (1927– )

Irish writer and eclectic poet, whose work reflects a well-travelled life. Born at Milford House, County Mayo, he lived in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) as a child, where his father worked in the colonial service, and was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and the Sorbonne, Paris. He ran a school in Crete 1953–54 before settling on Inishbofin Island, off Galway. Murphy often uses journeys and rites of passage as topics for his writing. His several collections of poetry include Sailing to an Island (1963), which concentrates on life at sea; High Island (1974); The Price of Stone (1985); and The Mirror Wall (1989), which incorporates Sri Lankan artistic influences. He won the Æ Memorial Award in 1951 and the Guinness Poetry Award in 1962.