Delia Murphy Kiernan (16 February 1902 – 11 February 1971) was an Irish singer and collector of Irish

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s. She recorded several

78 rpm records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In 1962 she recorded her only LP, ''The Queen of Connemara'', for Irish Prestige Records, New York, on the cover of which her name appears alongside the LP title. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she aided

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

official,

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Hugh O'Flaherty Hugh O'Flaherty (28 February 1898 – 30 October 1963), was an Irish Catholic priest and senior official of the Roman Curia, and a significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism. During World War II, O'Flaherty was responsible for savi ...

, in saving the lives of 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews, while her husband, Dr. Thomas J. Kiernan, was the Irish Ambassador in Rome from 1941–46.

Early life

She was born in Ardroe,

Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. It is the fastest growing town in the county. There was a 31% increase in the town's population between 2006 and 2011 an ...

, County Mayo, Ireland to a well-off family. Her father, John Murphy, from nearby Hollymount, made his fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush. While in America, he married Ann Fanning from

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

. They returned to Ireland in 1901 and purchased the large Mount Jennings Estate in Roundfort. John encouraged Delia's interest in singing ballads from a young age. He also allowed

Irish travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

to camp on the estate. According to her own account, she learned her first ballads at their campfires. Delia was educated at Presentation Convent,

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

; Dominican College,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

; and

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

(UCG), where she graduated with a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree. In UCG she met Dr. Thomas J. Kiernan, and they married in 1924, on her 22nd birthday. They had a son, Colm, and three daughters, Blon, Nuala and Orla. Kiernan joined the Irish diplomatic service, where his first posting was to London. While there Murphy sang at many venues including many gatherings of Irish emigrants and became quite well-known. In 1939 she recorded ''The Blackbird'', ''The Spinning Wheel'' and ''Three Lovely Lassies'' for

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

World War II

In 1941 Kiernan was appointed Irish Minister Plenipotentiary to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

in Rome. The Irish legation was the only English-speaking legation to remain open after the United States entered

. Murphy became one of those who assisted

(the "Vatican pimpernel") in hiding Jews and escaped allied soldiers from the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

. In 1943, when Italy changed sides, many escaped

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

were helped by the legation to leave Italy. In 1946 she was awarded the rank of ''Dame Commander'' of the

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

Later life

Kiernan later served as Irish High Commissioner and later first Ambassador in Australia, and later to West Germany, Canada, and the United States. In 1961, while she was living in Ottawa, Murphy made the recording of "The Queen of Connemara" produced by Kenny Goldstein. Murphy and Kiernan bought a farmhouse in Jasper, Ontario, near the Rideau Canal where she spent most of her time, even after Kiernan was posted to Washington. Tom Kiernan died in December 1967.

Death

By 1969 Murphy's health was in decline. In November of that year she sold her farmhouse in Canada and returned to Ireland. She lived in a cottage in

Strawberry Beds Strawberry Beds or The Strawberry Beds () is a locality and small settlement 7 km to the west of Dublin City, Ireland, located on the northern banks of the River Liffey between Chapelizod and Lucan where the closest bridges span the river ...

Chapelizod Chapelizod () is a village preserved within the city of Dublin, Ireland. It lies in the wooded valley of the River Liffey, near the Strawberry Beds and the Phoenix Park. The village is associated with Iseult of Ireland and the location of Is ...

, County Dublin. Murphy died of a massive heart attack on 11 February 1971, five days before her 69th birthday and eight days after her great nephew was born.O'Hara, p. 189 She had recorded upwards of 100 songs.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Delia 1902 births 1971 deaths Musicians from County Mayo Burials at Deans Grange Cemetery Irish folk singers Irish people of World War II People who rescued Jews during the Holocaust 20th-century Irish women singers Women in World War II Knights of the Holy Sepulchre