Murphy, Charles Russell (1924–84), accountant and patron of the arts, was born 14 July 1924 at 93 Lower Baggot St., son of Henry Maguinness Murphy, accountant, of 38 North Circular Road, Dublin, and Maria Elena Murphy (née Scott). He was educated at St Mary's College, Rathmines, and at UCD. In 1947 he entered his father's accountancy business and later became sole partner of the company, Henry M. Murphy & Co., chartered accountants, whose address for many years was 4/5 Trinity St., Dublin. He was a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and held directorships with the Bank of Ireland, Hibernian Bank Ltd, Irish Catholic Church Property Insurance Co. Ltd, Foster Finance Ltd, and Share and Loan Trust Ltd. During the 1950s he became known as one of Ireland's leading accountants and was regarded as one of its leading specialists in taxation and in company law. A well regarded liquidator, he handled the liquidations of several publicly quoted companies, including Harcourt Irish Holdings, as his firm came to employ more than forty people.
He was a long-time patron of the theatre, was a founder member of the Dublin Theatre Festival, and was known to block-book sections of theatre seats across Dublin and give the tickets away to friends and associates. His clients included many of the best known names in Irish show business, who employed him to look after their financial interests, having first met him through his prominence on the social scene in Dublin, where he cultivated an extravagant lifestyle. Amongst his most celebrated clients were the broadcaster Gay Byrne and the playwright Hugh Leonard (qv), for whom he invested money in property and shares. Many of those who retained Murphy regarded him as a friend and he was renowned for his charm, his generosity, his kindness, and a range of eccentricities. It is reported that on one occasion he broke the monotony of a meeting by conducting it from underneath his desk.
His love of the arts extended to painting and he had an extensive collection of art at his home, Wellington House, Wellington Road, Dublin. In his youth he had been a talented athlete and was Irish champion over 440 yards. With his wife Marie he had three children. His brother, Francis, was a high court judge. He died 12 April 1984 after a long illness and among those who attended his funeral were the tánaiste, Dick Spring, the chief justice, T. F. O'Higgins (qv) (1916–2003), and the ombudsman, Michael Mills (1916–2008). He had named Michael Murphy, the internal accountant in his company, as executor of his will, but he renounced this duty. In the absence of an executor, his family sought the appointment of an administrator and the high court appointed Laurence Crowley. It emerged that there were a series of liabilities in the investments of a number of clients, including Byrne and Leonard, both of whom lost large sums of money in misplaced investments and other undocumented expenditures, thought to have been used to meet Murphy's own living expenses. The total sum lost was believed to be in the region of £1.5 million. Following liquidation, his company ceased operation.