Noel Murphy Retires

On April 6th, Noel Murphy was the guest of honour as his ESB colleagues gathered to celebrate his retirement following 38 years of service. At an event attended by his wife Mary, and children Aoife and Kevin, ESB and Trade Union colleagues and retired staff, John Campion, Executive Director HR and Corporate Affairs led the tributes.

Noel’s career began in Central Stores, where he spent 5 years while simultaneously completing a BA degree at UCD. Over the years that followed, Noel worked in Research and Audit, Business Methods, General Training and Recruitment, before being appointed, in 1981, as Section Head in the Pay Advice Section. Noel became Head of Industrial Relations Research in 1983 before being appointed Communications Manager, Employee Relations in 1989.

Noel pioneered the concept of Team Briefing, and travelled to every corner of ESB to carry the message of participation and partnership – a role in which his love of sport and his dedication to ESB proved a fruitful combination. In 1991, Noel got ESB involved in the International Challenger Trophy for the first time, and two years later, the ESB team won the international finals held in Cornwall.

Noel’s next venture was the Power Challenge, which has been a key fixture in the ESB sporting calendar since 1994, and is now the largest international recreational gathering in ESB, with over forty teams – including representatives from Northern Ireland, England, Spain and Pakistan – competing each year.

In 1994, Noel moved to Change, where he instituted the Networks Challenge, which has also become an annual event and showcase for the safety skills and technical expertise of our Network technicians.

The most recent phase of Noel’s career has featured his role in the development of Partnership. The PAN PACT Agreement established a joint review of Partnership within ESB, and Noel was appointed to coordinate the group, a natural role for Noel, who had successfully completed an MA in the last few years majoring in relationship building and partnership.

His philosophy has always been that successful partnership is not about structures and processes but about relationships and trust. He will be warmly remembered by all his colleagues at ESB, not merely for his achievements, but for the way in which this most affable and genial of men embodied the values of partnership in everything he did. We all join in wishing Noel and his wife Mary a long, happy and wellearned retirement. Congratulations.