EIGHT YEARS AFTER he stepped down from the role of Cork manager and Jimmy Barry Murphy’s name still resonates as he is being inducted into the Munster GAA Hall of Fame.
Alongside him, is Tipperary footballer Declan Browne, with a host of other awards and presentations to be made at Saturday’s Munster GAA awards function in the Muckross Park Hotel, Killarney.
Interestingly, Barry Murphy has already been inducted into a Hall of Fame for his services to greyhound racing, in 2021. Before that, he also entered the GAA Museum Hall of Fame in 2015.
In his first year as a senior footballer, he made his debut in the faithful 1973 year in the league against Longford under coach Doney O’Donovan, captained by Billy Morgan.
His championship debut then followed in the Munster semi-final win over Clare.
In the Munster final they hit Kerry for five goals, with JBM inflicting the first major blow as they claimed their province.
Tyrone were beaten in the All-Ireland semi-final before Jimmy scored two goals in the final win over Galway as the Sam Maguire returned to Leeside after a 28-year absence.
In hurling, his first Championship campaign was in 1975 as Cork were crowned Munster champions but suffered a shock defeat to Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Cork came back and were crowned All-Ireland champions for the next three years, with Jimmy getting some vital scores none more so than a goal in the 1978 win over Kilkenny having beaten Wexford in the finals of ’76 and ’77.
He had little luck as captain of the ’82 and ’83 teams as they were defeated in the final both times by Kilkenny, but they returned to win in 1984 and ’86, after which, he retired from playing.
In all, he won five All-Ireland Senior Hurling medals, a Senior football medal, twelve Munster medals; ten in hurling, two in football, seven All-Star awards; two in football, five in hurling, two NHL medals and one NFL medal.
For St Finbarr’s, he won three county football titles and seven in hurling, five Munster club medals and four All-Irelands – two in each code.
He was manager of the Cork senior Hurling team that won the All-Ireland title in 1999 and was also at the helm when Cork lost the 2013 Final after a replay to Clare.
The football Hall of Fame award goes to Declan Browne.
The Moyle Rovers clubman was not only an outstanding footballer, he also donned the county colours in hurling for a number of years.
As a footballer he had it all and what he may have lacked in height, he made up for in skill and accuracy. He made his senior inter county debut in against Kerry in the 1996 Munster Football Championship.
He received Tipperary’s first football All-Star in 1998 when he was picked at corner forward after leading the Tipperary team to the Munster football final, following it up with winning another All-Star award in 2003.
With Moyle Rovers, he won seven Tipperary championship titles.
He won a Munster minor football championship medal in 1995, a Munster and All-Ireland minor hurling medal in 1996 and a Munster Under 21 hurling medal in 1999 as well as a McGrath Cup medal in 2003, and was awarded the Munster Footballer of the year award for that same year.
One of his greatest days in a Tipperary jersey came in 2005, when he captained Tipperary to win the Tommy Murphy Cup defeating Wexford in Croke Park. He also has the distinction of representing his country against Australia in the 2003 and 2004 International Rules series.
The Under-20 footballer of the year goes to William Shine of Killarney Legion and Kerry.
The Distinguished Service award is awarded to Michael Ryan of Waterford, who has recently retired as manager of the Nire football team and Fourmilewater hurling team.
In living two lives, that of a ladies football supremo and the Waterford senior hurling manager, he has had a varied career. Perhaps the greatest example of all was when he once managed Ballymacarbry ladies to a final and straight after, presented the cup as Chairman of the Munster Council.
The handball award goes to Anthony Fitzgerald of the Friary Abbeyside Handball Club in Dungarvan, Waterford.
