Con Murphy

For other people named Con Murphy, see Con Murphy (disambiguation).

Con Murphy

Personal information
Irish name	Conchur Ó Murchú
Sport	Hurling
Position	Half-back
Born	28 October 1922(1922-10-28) Innishannon, County Cork
Died	29 April 2007(2007-04-29) (aged 84)
Club(s)
Years	Club
	Valley Rovers
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County
1942-1951	Cork
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	5
All Irelands	4

Con Murphy (28 October 1922 - 29 April 2007) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling with Cork in the 1940s, winning four All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships with the county.^[1] He later served as President of the Gaelic Athletic Association. In 2009 he was named in the Sunday Tribune's list of the 125 Most Influential People In GAA History.^[1]

Early life

Con Murphy was born in Innishannon, County Cork in 1922. The eldest of seven children(he is no relation to Con Murphy (RTE)), 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.

Playing career

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.

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 emphatic victory 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 Senior Hurling 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

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.

Administrative career

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.^[1] In the mid 1980s Murphy served as Chairman of the Cork County Board.

President of the GAA

In 1976 Murphy became President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, a role which he held until 1978.^[1] 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, which he played a big part in the construction of.^[1] He also campaigned to the British government on the behalf of Crossmaglen Rangers, whose pitch had been occupied by the British army.^[1] 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.

Retirement

In retirement Murphy continued 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. He still had a stranglehold on many aspects of Cork GAA, and led the campaign to keep Croke Park closed to Soccer and Rugby when the Clubs of Cork wanted Croke Park open while Landsdowne Road was being redeveloped. Murphy died on 29 April 2007.

Achievements
Preceded by Phil Purcell M.J. 'Inky' Flaherty	All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final referee 1948 1950	Succeeded by M.J. 'Inky' Flaherty Willie O'Donoghue
Sporting positions
Preceded by Andy Scannell	Vice-Chairman of the Cork County Board of the GAA 1952-1953	Succeeded by Jack Barrett
Preceded by Séamus Long	Treasaurer of the Cork County Board of the GAA 1954-1956	Succeeded by Paddy O'Driscoll
Preceded by Seán Óg Murphy	Secretary of the Cork County Board of the GAA 1957-1972	Succeeded by Frank Murphy
Preceded by Donal Keenan	President of the Gaelic Athletic Association 1976-1979	Succeeded by Paddy MacFlynn
Preceded by Derry Gowen	Chairman of the Cork County Board of the GAA 1985-1987	Succeeded by Denis Conroy

Teams

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} McEvoy, Enda; Kieran Shannon, Dave Hannigan (and PJ Cunningham, Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent) (4 January 2009). "125 Most Influential People In GAA History". Sunday Tribune. http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/jan/04/125-most-influential-people-in-gaa-history-125-101. Retrieved 20 January 2009. 

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

Persondata
Name	Murphy, Con
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	28 October 1922
Place of birth	Innishannon
Date of death	29 April 2007
Place of death