Con Murphy

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Con Murphy
Personal information
Sport Hurling
Irish Name Conchur Ó Murchú
Date of Birth 28 October 1922
Place of birth Innishannon, County Cork
Club information
Club Valley Rovers
Position Half-back
Club(s)*
Club Years Apps (scores)
Inter County
County Cork
Position Half-back
Inter County(ies)**
County Years Apps (scores)
Cork 1942-1951
Inter County Titles
Munster Titles 5
All-Ireland 4

* club appearances and scores
correct as of .
**Inter County team apps and scores correct
as of .

Con Murphy (born 28 October 1922) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling with Cork in the 1940s. He later served as President of the Gaelic Athletic Association.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Con Murphy was born in Innishannon, County Cork in 1922. The eldest of seven children, he developed a strong love of Gaelic games, culture and language from a young age. His uncle was Seán McCarthy, an administrator with the GAA, who also served as President of the association in the 1930s. Murphy was educated at the local national school and quickly joined the Valley Rovers club in his area. He later attended the North Monastery Christian Brothers School in Cork. It was at this famous hurling nursery that his natural skills and his love of the game were developed. Murphy quickly made the school’s hurling team and he won Harty Cup titles in 1940, 1941 and 1942. He captained the latter two teams and converted the final win into an All-Ireland Colleges Championship win.

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Club

Between 1936 and 1956 Murphy played junior club hurling and football with Valley Rovers. Murphy enjoyed little success at junior level, however, he played in the Cork SHC with the divisional team Carrigdhoun. He was full back on the team that lost to Glen Rovers in the 1945 county final.

[edit] Inter-county

By the early 1940s Murphy’s hurling talent had come to the attention of the Cork inter-county selectors. In 1942 he won his first Munster title before later collecting his very first All-Ireland title following a win over Dublin. In 1943 Murphy collected another Munster medal as well as a second All-Ireland title following an emphaticvictory over Antrim. It was the first time in the history of the championship that a team from Ulster had made it to the final. In 1944 Cork were hoping to capture an unprecedented fourth All-Ireland title in-a-row. On the other hand, Murphy was hoping to make it a personal hat trick of Munster and All-Ireland medals. Once again Cork retained their provincial title and subsequently defeated Dublin in the All-Ireland final. Murphy had completed his own three-in-a-row.

In 1945 Cork lost their first round game in the Munster Championship, however, they returned in 1946 with Murphy winning his fourth Munster title. This was later converted into a fourth All-Ireland victory for Murphy, following a huge win over Kilkenny. In 1947 Murphy captured his fifth Munster medal. Cork’s opponents in the All-Ireland final were Kilkenny yet again. In a final that has been described as the greatest hurling game of all-time Cork lost to Kilkenny by a single point.

In 1948 Murphy claimed his sole National Hurling League title. He also won Railway Cup medals with Munster

[edit] Referee

As his playing career drew to a close Murphy continued to serve as a referee. He was regarded as a top class referee and among the games he adjudicated at were the All-Ireland senior finals of 1948 and 1950, the All-Ireland junior final of 1949, the National League finals of 1947 and 1952, as well as the 1949 Munster final. Murphy also refereed Cork SHC finals as well as the Tipperary SHC final of 1949.

[edit] Administrative career

[edit] Cork County Board

Following his retirement from inter-county hurling Murphy served with distinction as a member of the Cork County Board of the GAA. In the early 1950s he held the positions of Vice Chairman and Treasurer. In 1956, following the death of Seán Óg Murphy, Murphy took over as Secretary of the County Board, one of the most difficult but prestigious of posts in the GAA. He held this position until 1973. In the mid 1980s Murphy served as Chairman of the Cork County Board.

[edit] President of the GAA

In 1976 Murphy became President of the Gaelic Athletic Association. During his three-year term as President there were many significant developments, such as the official opening of the 50,000-seat Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork in 1976. During his tenure as President Murphy also had the privilege of presenting the Liam McCarthy Cup to three different Cork men in succession as Cork completed a famous three-in-a-row of All-Ireland hurling victories.

[edit] Retirement

In retirement Murphy continues to have a keen interest in the playing of and the administration of Gaelic Games. He served as a member of the RTÉ Authority in the early 1980s, and was awarded the freedom of Cork in 1995.

Cork - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1942 (13th title)

1 N. Porter | 2 W. 'Long Puck' Murphy | 3 B. Thornhill | 4 C. Murphy | 5 A. Lotty | 6 D.J. Buckley | 7 J. Young | 8 J. Lynch (Capt.) | 9 P. O'Donovan | 10 C. Ring | 11 S. Condon | 12 M. Kennefick | 13 C. Tobin | 14 J. Quirke | 15 D. Beckett | Subs: J. Buttimer |
Cork - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1943 (14th title)

1 T. Mulcahy | 2 W. 'Long Puck' Murphy | 3 B. Thornhill | 4 C. Murphy | 5 A. Lotty | 6 D.J. Buckley | 7 J. Young | 8 J. Lynch | 9 C. Cottrell | 10 S. Condon | 11 C. Ring | 12 M. Kennefick (Capt.) | 13 J. Quirke | 14 T. O'Sullivan | 15 M. Brennan | Subs: P. O'Donovan | B. Murphy |
Cork - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1944 (15th title)

1 T. Mulcahy | 2 W. 'Long Puck' Murphy | 3 B. Thornhill | 4 D.J. Buckley | 5 P. O'Donovan | 6 C. Murphy | 7 A. Lotty | 8 J. Lynch | 9 C. Cottrell | 10 C. Ring | 11 S. Condon (Capt.) | 12 J. Young | 13 J. Quirke | 14 J. Morrison | 15 J. Kelly |
Cork - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1946 (16th title)

1 T. Mulcahy | 2 W. 'Long Puck' Murphy | 3 C. Murphy | 4 D.J. Buckley | 5 P. O'Donovan | 6 A. Lotty | 7 J. Young | 8 J. Lynch | 9 C. Cottrell | 10 P. Healy | 11 C. Ring (Capt.) | 12 C. Murphy | 13 M. O'Riordan | 14 G. O'Riordan | 15 J. Kelly |

[edit] References

  • Cronin, Jim, Making Connections – A Cork G.A.A Miscellany, (2005).
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