Moville woman told she wouldn't live past 12 is new CEO of disability arts organisation

A Moville woman who was not expected to live past the age of 12 has been appointed as CEO of Northern Ireland’s leading disability arts organisation.

Edel Murphy has been confirmed as the CEO of the Belfast-based University of Atypical, a disabled-led charity that develops and promotes the work of d/Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse artists and enhances access for audiences.

Ms Murphy says she will use her personal experiences to help hundreds of artists fulfil their potential.

When she was diagnosed as a young child with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 3, an extremely rare condition affecting around four people in Northern Ireland, doctors told her she would not live beyond the age of 12.

Edel has had 19 major operations and defied all medical expectations, the 45-year-old is looking forward to her new role in her dream job.

“I first came into the University of Atypical as a visitor, a fan, a friend, a volunteer and then an employee,” she says. “I came because I felt I belonged. I saw then how clearly this organisation empowered people to do great things and make this city and our region a better place for people like and unlike me to be.”

While attending Queen’s University, Edel worked at QFT and began a career as a drama teacher before going on to work for the Arts Council. She then went to UofA as a project co-ordinator and has paid tribute to former CEO’s, Damien Coyle and the late Chris Ledger.

She said: “Over the past thirty years many great activists, artists and creators built this organisation. It is an incredible honour for me to find myself now at the helm. Most recently Chris and Damien have taken it to one of the most admired and inspiring organisations in the region, meeting and stretching expectations of d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent creatives.

“After surgery on my neck when I was eight, I found it very hard to speak so that people could hear me. My mum took me to meet a drama teacher in Derry called Eithne McCloskey.

“I’d just won a bursary of 50 punts for a drama sketch that I’d written at the Feis in Donegal and I used the money for drama lessons. But it was so much more than that. O

“ver the years, Mrs McCloskey taught me how to speak again in public with confidence. She gave me a sense of myself beyond my physicality. She literally gave me my voice back.

“I want to help change this part of the world for others who are longing to live their dreams while embracing their atypical identity with excitement. It’s already happening, we are doing it today, and together the Atypical team will do it again and again.”

The University of Atypical, funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, supports and campaigns for disabled artists through a number of programmes. With its own Atypical Gallery and the Ledger Studio for Performing Arts, the organisation also runs the annual Bounce Arts Festival and many other programmes.

Next year, Edel will marry her long-term partner Claire and believes it is important to live authentically, embracing diversity and being atypical.

She said: “I’m very proud of who I am and intersectionality is an important part of what we do at University of Atypical.”