Controversial Bishop Eamonn Casey has died.
To a generation, he was arguably most well known for fathering a child with American woman Annie Muprhy,
He left Ireland in the early 90s when it emerged he'd had a son in the 70s.
Annie was divorced which was illegal here at the time. In some churches people who had split from their spouses were not allowed to receive holy communion.
His family have issued this statement:
“On behalf of his son, Peter, his brother, Father Micheál, his sister, Ita Furlong, nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, great-grand nieces and great-grand nephews, we wish to acknowledge the priestly work of Bishop Eamonn, especially in the pursuit of social justice for the marginalised, as evidenced by his work with Shelter in London in the 1950’s and 1960’s and later with his involvement in the setting up and development of Trócaire.
We would like to extend a very special and sincere thank you to... the management and staff of Carrigoran Nursing Home, Newmarket-On-Fergus, Co Clare, whose care was of the highest possible standard"
(L) Annie Murphy, 44, of Ridgefield, Conn., holds up her son's birth certificate following a news conference in New York City in May 1992. (R) Annie's long-time companion Arthur Pennell.
Annie Murphy gave an iconic interview on The Late Late Show in 1993.
Concluding the interview, Gay Byrne said "If your son is half as good a man as his father, he won't be doing too badly", to which Annie replied "I'm not so bad either."
