Willie 'Long Puck' Murphy

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Willie 'Long Puck' Murphy (1915-1977) was an Irish sportsperson who played hurling with Ballincollig and Cork in the 1940s.

Willie Murphy was born in Ballincollig, County Cork in 1915. Known throughout his life as 'Long Puck', a nickname he earned due to the extraordinary length he could drive the ball, he is regarded as one of the greatest corner-backs of his era. He was educated locally and first tasted success in 1926 at the age of 11, winning his first county school shield medal with Ballincollig. At the age of 15 Murphy played junior hurling with his local club and began a three year stint with the Cork minor hurlers. Subsequently Murphy played at junior level for Cork before joining the senior side in the mid-1930s. In 1939 Murphy won his first Munster Championship with the senior hurlers playing at right half-back. Cork then faced up to Kilkenny in the famous “thunder and lightning final”, however, Murphy’s side lost by a point.

In 1940 and 1941 Murphy captured back-to-back National Hurling League titles with Cork. It was the beginning of a great era for Cork hurling. Later in 1941 Murphy won his very first All-Ireland medal. It was an unusual championship as many games were cancelled due to the outbreak of a foot-and-mouth disease epidemic. Following the All-Ireland final Cork actually lost to Tipperary in the delayed Munster final. In 1942 Cork gained their revenge on Tipp with an emphatic victory in the Munster final. It was Murphy’s second Munster title and this was later converted into a second All-Ireland title. Murphy made it a hat-trick of victories in 1943, capturing his third Munster and All-Ireland titles. In 1944 Cork were attempting to capture an unprecedented fourth All-Ireland title in-a-row. No team in the history of the championship had won more than three consecutive titles. The year got off to a good start when Cork defeated Limerick after a replay to win the Munster Championship. It was Murphy’s fourth Munster medal. Cork later had a huge victory over Dublin to win their fourth consecutive All-Ireland. Murphy and eight of his Cork team-mates set a new record in Gaelic Athletic Association history by becoming the first men to capture four consecutive All-Ireland titles. It is a record which has never been equalled.

Five-in-a-row proved to be a bridge too far for Cork, however, they returned in 1946 with Murphy winning his fifth Munster title. This was once again converted into an All-Ireland title, Murphy’s fifth in all. Another Munster title was captured by Cork in 1947, however, Murphy’s side lost out to Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final. In 1948 he won another National League title and in 1949 Murphy played his last game for Cork. It was a Munster semi-final defeat by Tipperary. Murphy also lined out in the blue and white of Munster for Railway Cup games. Between 1940 and 1948 he won seven medals in all, only failing in 1941 and 1947. In retirement Murphy maintained a keen interest in hurling. He was a selector in the 1960s and was a key member of the backroom team when Cork won the All-Ireland in 1966.

Willie 'Long Puck' Murphy died in 1977.

	Cork - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 1941 (12th title)
1 J. Buttimer | 2 W. 'Long Puck' Murphy | 3 B. Thornhill | 4 A. Lotty | 5 W. Campbell | 6 C. Cottrell | 7 D.J. Buckley | 8 J. Barrett | 9 J. Lynch | 10 C. Ring | 11 C. Buckley (Capt.) | 12 J. Young | 13 J. Quirke | 14 T. O'Sullivan | 15 M. Brennan | Subs: P. O'Donovan | B. Ring |

	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 |