Gerald Murphy (1928 – 14 July 1978) was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Cork senior team.
Born in Midleton, County Cork, Murphy first played competitive hurling in his youth. He arrived on the inert-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team before later joining the junior side. He made his senior debut during the 1949 championship. Murphy immediately became a regular member of the team and won three All-Ireland medals, four Munster medals and one National Hurling League medal. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.
As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions Murphy won one Railway Cup medal. At club level he was a one-time championship medallist in the intermediate grade with Midleton.
Throughout his career Murphy made 20 championship appearances. He retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1957 championship.
Contents
Playing career
Club
Murphy became one of Midleton's top forwards throughout the late forties. In 1948 he lined out against Shanballymore in the final of the intermediate championship. A huge 6-4 to 1-1 victory gave Midleton the victory and gave Murphy a championship medal.
Inter-county
Murphy first played for Cork as a member of the minor team on 1 July 1945 in a 6-11 to 4-2 Munster semi-final defeat by Tipperary. His two years as a member of the minor team yielded little in terms of championship success.
In 1948 Murphy was added to the Cork junior team, however, he was an unused substitute as Cork exited the championship after a 4-7 to 4-5 Munster final defeat by Limerick.
Murphy made his senior championship debut on 29 May 1949. He scored two goals as Cork recorded a 3-10 apiece Munster quarter-final draw with Tipperary. He was dropped from the starting fifteen for the replay but was introduced as a substitute as Cork endured a 2-8 to 1-9 defeat after extra time.
After a period of dominance by Tipperary between 1949 and 1951, Cork bounced back in 1952. A late Paddy Barry goal gave Cork a 1-11 to 2-6 defeat of four-in-a-row hopefuls Tipperary. It was Murphy's first Munster medal. On 7 September 1952 Cork faced Dublin in the All-Ireland decider. An appendicitis ruled Joe Hartnett out of the game, resulting in Willie John Daly being switched to centre-forward. Liam Dowling scored a vital goal in the first half to give Cork the interval lead. Dublin's attack collapsed in the second half as Dowling scored a second goal. The 2-14 to 0-7 victory gave Murphy his first All-Ireland medal.
Murphy added a National Hurling League medal to his collection in 1953 as Cork defeated Tipperary by 2-10 to 2-7. In the subsequent provincial championship he won a second Munster medal as Cork once again downed their arch rivals by 3-10 to 1-11. On 6 September 1953 Cork faced Galway in what was one of the dirtiest All-Ireland deciders of all time. Galway went into the game with the intention of upsetting their opponents physically and did just that, however, the game remains clouded in controversy due to the injury to the Galway captain, Mick Burke. The result remained in doubt right up to the final whistle, however, Cork secured a 3-3 to 0-8 victory. Murphy had won his second All-Ireland medal. After the match at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin a fight broke out when another Galway player struck Cork's Christy Ring. The following morning another fight broke out when another member of the Galway panel attempted to hit Ring. The fights, however, ended just as quickly as they had started.
Inter-provincial
In 1953 Daly was included on the Munster inter-provincial team for the first time. That year Munster faced arch rivals Leinster in the decider. A narrow 5-7 to 5-5 victory gave him a Railway Cup medal.
Honours
Team
Midleton
Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship (1): 1948
Cork
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (3): 1952, 1953, 1954
Munster Senior Hurling Championship (4): 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956
National Hurling League (2): 1947-48, 1952-53
Munster
Railway Cup (1): 1953