Playing career Michael Murphy (Gaelic footballer)

1 playing career

1.1 college
1.2 club
1.3 inter-county

1.3.1 years: 2006 – 2010
1.3.2 donegal captaincy: 2011 – present


1.4 inter-provincial
1.5 international rules

playing career
college

murphy played secondary school saint eunan s college. @ stage opponents hailing him best young footballer in country , likening him roald dahl s big friendly giant manner in bundle county minor players aside , leave them poleaxed on ground.

in 2007, murphy member of college team won fourth mclarnon cup, , went on all-ireland colleges senior football championship b final, beaten score of 2–12 0–14 after time perennial football power st. mary s of edenderry, offaly.

with dcu murphy won 2012 sigerson cup when team beat nui maynooth in final. hailed after performance in 2013 quarter-final knocked ucd out of competition.

club

murphy called glenswilly senior football team in 2005 when turned 16, , helped them reach ulster intermediate football final. in 2007, aged 18, key member of glenswilly side had success in 2007 donegal senior football championship, beaten naomh adhamhnáin in final 0–12 1–3. also, winning county division 2 league same season.

in 2011, murphy part of glenswilly team won first ever donegal senior football championship title, defeating naomh mícheál 1–8 0–9 in final. murphy scored 1–7 of team s 1–8 total in man of match performance. glenswilly progressing ulster club championship first round, murphy scored crucial goal penalty spot glenswilly defeated cavan gaels 1–08 0–10.

in october 2013, murphy won second donegal senior football championship glenswilly defeated killybegs 3–19 2–6. murphy scored 1–5 , set ciaran bonner s goal deft flick of heel. murphy played less 24 hours after captaining ireland in first 2013 international rules test win against australia. glenswilly progressed final of year s ulster senior club football championship, lost ballinderry, despite murphy opening scoring goal after 25 seconds , later assisting caolan kelly second.

inter-county
early years: 2006 – 2010

murphy experienced under-age success donegal @ inter-county level, member both of donegal s 2006 ulster minor football championship-winning side, , 2010 ulster under-21 football championship-winning side. made senior debut donegal in january 2007 against uuj in dr. mckenna cup.

at end of 2009 season, received stars young footballer of year, having scored 36 points in 6 all-ireland senior football championship appearances, sixteen of them play.

in 2010, murphy captained donegal ulster under-21 football championship. went on reach final of all-ireland under-21 football championship narrowly lost dublin score of 1–10 1–8. murphy missed penalty in injury time of second half, have won game donegal.

donegal captaincy: 2011 – present

in december 2010, new donegal senior manager jim mcguinness named murphy captain ahead of 2011 season. succeeding kevin cassidy in role, murphy became 1 of youngest skippers in county s history. go on become successful captain in team history, retaining role throughout mcguinness era.

in 2011, donegal breaching 4 years without silverware whatsoever, murphy captained senior team national football league division 2 title. scored 1–3 in team s 2–11 0–16 victory on laois in final. murphy continued success captain leading donegal first ulster senior football championship title in 19 years, win on derry in clones, scoring penalty after half-time in 1–11 0–08 win. donegal went on reach all-ireland semi-final, suffered narrow defeat eventual champions dublin in extremely close match.

in 2012, murphy became first player captain donegal back-to-back ulster titles, , later added all-ireland title—only second donegal captain lift sam maguire cup, after anthony molloy in 1992. although murphy s scoring totals decreased after 2011, mcguinness praised him work rate , unselfish play.

murphy smashed ball mayo net after 3 minutes of 2012 all-ireland senior football championship final, having collecting high ball delivered karl lacey. catch , strike hailed 2012 s iconic score , goal of season. upon climbing hogan stand after game, lifting sam maguire cup , catching breath, murphy handed microphone make speech. began bellowing have him —in reference sam maguire cup. ended chorus of jimmy s winning matches. jimmy s winning games. jimmy s bringing sammy donegal again . gaa president liam o neill later related murphy, exchanged sam maguire cup, had offered condolences on sudden death of o neill s sister previous day. president o neill went on express admiration murphy , called him exceptional young captain .

murphy opened 2013 season on 2 february 9 points against kildare in opening league game @ croke park. analysts praised skills displayed throughout game; @ 1 point in second half stretched high air meet miscalculated free paddy mcbrearty , gave almighty thump fist on bar, while on occasion left kildare defender stumbling along ground sidestepped him , casually @ angle distance, appearance of little effort whatsoever, kicked ball on bar. against tyrone on 3 march, scored 3 4 of donegal s points , then, shortly before half-time, having had penalty saved tg4 man of match niall morgan, murphy struck out , issued second yellow card joe mcquillan. against kerry on 10 march, man of match murphy dispatched penalty , 5 points in donegal s comfortable victory on league s whipping boys.

one of more memorable moments of 2015 murphy touch ryan mchugh donegal s second goal in championship victory on galway @ croke park. considered 1 of goals of season.

inter-provincial

murphy has played ulster in inter-provincial series.

international rules

murphy travelled australia under-17 international rules series in 2006, despite being year underage. has been target of australian rules football clubs since 2007, had refused offers until 2009, when reported considering move. however, in 2010 said had turned down move , not considering in future.

murphy made first appearance ireland against australia in 2010 international rules series. in 2011, travelled australia second series played integral part of ireland s record aggregate 130–65 win. murphy considered 1 of ireland s best performers, finishing joint-second top scorer 19 points overall, including opening goal in first test. named captain of irish team 2013 series. led ireland record-breaking victory.

murphy again named captain of irish team 2014.