Nicholas Murphy

Nicholas Murphy (born 23 April 1978 in Carrigaline, County Cork) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Carrigaline and was a member of the Cork^[1] senior inter-county team between 1998 and 2012.

Playing career

Club

Murphy plays his club hurling and football with his local club in Carrigaline and has enjoyed some success. He first came to prominence with the club in the early 1990s as part of the minor football team that qualified for back-to-back county finals in 1995 and 1996. Unfortunately, Murphy ended up on the losing side on both occasions. He ended up on the losing side in a number of county intermediate football finals also in the early 2000s. In 2008 Murphy enjoyed his biggest success with the club when Carrigaline defeated Bandon to take the county intermediate hurling championship title.

Inter-county

Murphy first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork football team at underage levels. He enjoyed little success in the minor or under-21 grades, largely because Kerry dominated these competitions. He made his debut with the senior football team in 1998 in a Munster semi-final game against Kerry, a game which Cork lost.

The following year Cork were back in the big time. Murphy began the year by capturing a National Football League winners' medal following a 0-12 to 1-7 victory over Dublin. Shortly after this victory Ó he lined out with the Cork senior footballers in the Munster football decider against arch-rivals Kerry. In atrocious weather conditions Cork emerged victorious by 2-10 to 2-4. It was Ó Murphy's first Munster winners' medal and acted as a springboard for further success. In September he lined out for the Cork footballers in the All-Ireland final against Meath. In an exciting game that saw the lead switch hands on several occasions Cork's hopes of doing the double were dashed as Meath won by 1-11 to 1-8.

Cork lost their provincial crown for the next few seasons, however, in 2002 Murphy's side tasted success once again. Tipperary surprisingly provided the opposition in the provincial final, however, the game ended in a draw. After a thrilling draw Cork trounced Tipp by 1-23 to 0-7 in the subsequent replay. It was Murphy's second Munster winners' medal. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final pitted Cork against Kerry. It was an historic occasion as it was the first time that these great rivals had met in Croke Park. Unfortunately, Cork were trounced on a score line of 3-19 to 2-7. The year ended with the Cork hurling team going on strike. In turn, the football team joined in a sympathy strike. The players, who had been seeking better conditions, refused to play or train with the county again until the dispute with the county board was resolved.

Following the strike the fortunes of the Cork football team took a turn for the worse. A series of defeats in 2003 and 2004 saw the Cork football team reach an all-time low. In 2005 Cork narrowly lost the Munster final but qualified for the All-Ireland semi-final where Kerry defeated them comfortably by 1-19 to 1-9.

In 2006 Cork won their feet turbulance Munster title in four years following a defeat of Kerry. The two sides met again in the All-Ireland semi-final, however, in a similar pattern Kerry were victorious.

In 2007 Cork lost their Munster crown to Kerry, however, they made use of the qualifiers and found themselves in the All-Ireland final. Kerry, the old rivals, provided the opposition in the first all-Munster All-Ireland final. The game started on a level pegging. Kerry, however, ran riot and captured the title with a 3-13 to 1-9 victory. It was one of Cork's most humiliating defeats.

In 2008, Cork won the Munster title, beating Kerry in the final. It was Murphy's fourth Munster winners' medal. Kerry, however, again defeated Cork in a replay in the All-Ireland semi-final despite an outstanding performance.

In November 2012, he announced he would retire from inter-county football.^[2]

References