John Gulliver: The spirit of Father Terry lives on in Kilburn
Children organise fundraiser for the homeless
Friday, 12th January — By John Gulliver
I REMEMBER more than 1,500 people packing into the Sacred Heart Church in Kilburn to welcome the new parish priest, Father Terry Murray, who died last month.
He was just 61.
Bishop Nicholas Hudson spoke at the celebration along with the then mayor of Camden, now general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), Maryam Eslamdoust.
It was little more than four years ago, but for many it will have felt like an eternity.
Tributes this week described him as “dedicated to the community” and “generous to a fault”, while a spokesman for the Ashford Place health and social care charity he worked with recalled: “We remember him fondly when he used to cook supper for our homeless clients before Covid-19 and was always on hand to listen and empathise with people.”
Before coming to Kilburn, Father Terry had served in Dublin, and before that a parish in Liverpool throughout the 1990s.
He was remembered among friends for his work with deaf children and his familiar greeting, “Hello, my friend.”
Fr Terry was a great support to Eddie Hanson, a councillor in Kilburn, and clearly made a big impression on his children, too.
Karis, Kaleb and Eleah- Grace Hanson organised their own 5k sponsored walk on New Year’s Day in his memory.
They had wanted to do something for the homeless after seeing a man sleeping on a street bench near their home. The total raised for the charity Crisis was £2,535.
“They did this walk in memory of the beloved Father Terry Murray who gave so much to help others, and wanted to do something to follow in his footsteps and see his legacy live on through the good work of others,” said Cllr Hanson, a man who seems to almost always have a smile on his face.
Last year, he spoke movingly in the Town Hall about how he found sanctuary in Camden as a refugee after escaping Sierra Leone during the bloody civil war in the 1990s.
He had been captured as a child and taken away from his parents by a militia, and did not know if he would survive day to day.
Understandably, he is proud of his three kids, who I recall raising money for the NHS during the height of the Covid pandemic.
They seem to be doing very well for themselves at home here in Camden.
Their New Year’s walk is done but you can still donate at justgiving.com/page/hansonsiblingswalk4crisis