DOES anyone remember Father Thomas Murray, who was parish priest in Sabden for nearly 30 years?
When he took up the post in the 1930s his health was so poor he admitted he did not have many years left — yet he survived to become one of the oldest Catholic priests in the area.
He retired in 1962, aged 81, after 56 years in the church.
On his retirement, he said: “This is what Sabden has done for me. When I came here in 1933 I was very ill and did not expect to live long.
“The village gave me new interest and the villagers gave me wonderful treatment and encouragement.
“I was renewed by the genial atmosphere of village life, where everyone is friendly and life goes on quietly and smoothly.”
Father Murray will be remembered as the man who built the village’s first Roman Catholic church, which was a proud event in his life.
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