Former head of State training agency leaves estate of €2.63m

Henry Murdoch, long-time chairman of the National Rehabilitation Hospital, director on State boards, commentator and writer, left an estate valued at €2.63 million when he died in May 2025, according to papers published by the Probate Office.Murdoch, of Baily View, Dalkey, published two books reflecting his upbringing in the midwest during the 1950s and 1960s: “Remembering Killaloe, A Memoir” and “My Killaloe, A Guidebook”. The books were launched by then tánaiste Eamon Gilmore.Murdoch directed all royalties from the books to the NRH Foundation, which supports adults and children in the hospital he chaired for 17 years until 2013.As a well-known legal author – especially known for writing Murdoch’s Dictionary of Irish Law, he frequently contributed to this newspaper’s opinion and letters pages.READ MOREHenry Murdoch served as assistant director general of the State training agency FÁS from its establishment in 1987 until 1999. Photograph: Dara MacDónaill/The Irish Times Murdoch served as assistant director general of the State training agency FÁS from its establishment in 1987 until 1999 and was appointed to the governing council of the City & Guilds of London Institute in 2001. Before the creation of FÁS, Murdoch had also spent several years as a director with its predecessor, AnCO (The Industrial Training Authority), which he originally joined in 1974.In other grants of probate published last week: Jane O’Callaghan, a pioneering aviation industry executive, left an estate valued at €5.27 million when she died in July 2025.O’Callaghan of Belgrave Place, Rathgar, began her career in 1987 with Guinness Peat Aviation and went on to hold leadership roles in several companies. She was a founding board member of Emerald Airlines and served on the board of directors for the global firm High Ridge Aviation. In early 2025, she became the first woman to be honoured with the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading annual award. Following her death, an annual industry award – the Jane O’Callaghan Leadership Award – was established by the body Advancement of Women in Aviation Roundtable. Pioneering advocate of third-level mental health support services, Anne Keough, of Heytesbury Lane in Dublin, left €2.7 million when she died in June 2025, according to the Probate Office.Keough was a founding member of the Irish Association of University and College Counsellors, which is now known as Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education Ireland. Keough is remembered as a trailblazer in third-level student care, having become the first dedicated student counsellor in the State, establishing her practice at Trinity College Dublin. The sums referenced typically include all assets, covering homes, land and/or investments.