Life after death for unflinching rider who stared into the abyss

Very few of us in this life have the opportunity to attend our own funeral in any sentient fashion, let alone read the obituaries. For most of us, it’s into the box, a couple of unheard hymns and a reading, then either upstairs or downstairs, depending on the prevailing mood of the Almighty.

For Declan Murphy it was different. Then again, Declan Murphy is different.

On Friday, May 6, 1994, a priest arrived at his bedside with a view to administering the last rites to the stricken jockey; in the waiting room at the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Liverpool, family and friends prepared themselves for confirmation of the worst.