Making first stop in Cork, Murphy receives own family crest

CORK – After a day and a half leading diplomatic and economic events in Dublin, Gov. Phil Murphy today traveled to Cork, where his personal Irish ancestry lies, and received the Murphy family crest from Cork Lord Mayor Colm Kelleher.

“This is quite a day,” Murphy said in his remarks at Cork City Hall. “For we Irish-Americans, there is always a sense of homecoming that comes from a recognition that this is where your family’s story is rooted.”

Murphy’s trip, which is focused on economic development and Irish investment in New Jersey, has also involved a number of cultural stops at institutions like Trinity College Dublin and the Jameson distillery. At each, Murphy has emphasized the continued connections between Ireland and New Jersey, which has a large Irish-American population and which the governor has called a “truly international” state.

“The industries and businesses which are fueling Cork’s future are exactly the ones which are fueling New Jersey’s future,” Murphy said today. “There are important ties to make here in Cork.”

Proof of those continued ties is present in Murphy’s own family tree; a cohort of Murphy’s third cousins, still residents of Cork, were in attendance at the event.

Kelleher made that connection even clearer in his remarks, drawing attention to a period in 1847, the worst year of the Irish Potato Famine, when the Central Jersey city of New Brunswick (alongside the Choctaw Nation) sent bags of food to Ireland.

“If it wasn’t for the generosity of the people of New Brunswick, … a lot more people would have died,” Kelleher said.

Murphy grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, in an Irish-American family he has characterized as “middle-class on a good day”; his paternal grandmother was an Irish immigrant. He said today that given those beginnings, it’s “humbling” to return to Ireland as the governor of New Jersey.

“I never thought that I would have this position, and I never thought therefore that I’d be coming here in this position,” Murphy said. “It’s something that I never expected, but it’s really rewarding.”

Murphy’s final day in Ireland will be spent entirely in Cork, with several business events and visits coming throughout the day. While in Dublin, the governor met with a number of Irish officials, including the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, and announced that the Irish company Applegreen would be moving its U.S. headquarters to Glen Rock.