ROOTED TO THE bottom of the Division 4 table when the league wound up last month, without a point to their name after seven games.
A 2025 season that brought early defeat in Munster, held off by three by a Tipperary side they renew acquaintances with this Sunday as the championship commences.
A Tailteann Cup run last summer that delivered three from three in the defeats column
It prompts the question to Conor Murray, one of Waterford’s brightest attacking talents, as to where the motivation and commitment to persist stems from?
If from the outside it is judged as an unappealing pursuit, Murray offers insight into life on the inside.
“I don’t want to get too philosophical about it, but I think it’s one of the best things that you can do as a person. It’s a serious investment in yourself. What you’re doing in terms of preparation, you’re trying to look after yourself in the best way possible.
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“People always ask the question, is it hard being an inter-county player? Yes, you do miss out on certain things. But the benefits you get from it, the friends you make that you wouldn’t make otherwise, going through a lot of tough days, you learn so much about yourself in that.”
What has the Rathgormack man learned?
“Just how to bounce back. You can’t just throw in the towel because you’re not winning. You take that with you in any aspect of life, that there will be bad day and they make the good days that bit more sweet.
“There’s a lot you can take from it, just from an everyday life point of view. There’s so much you can gain from being an inter-county player. Discipline is a big thing. Resilience. It’s an honour really.
“As a Waterford footballer, wins are few and far between. So if you’re playing to just win, you wouldn’t do it. Something that I always feel strongly about is that I’m from Waterford, I want to play football, so this is the best level I can possibly play at, given where I’m from. I can’t go back and change my birth cert. It’s just about wanting to be the best you can be.”
Player turnover is a constant recurring issue for Waterford. In the off-season since 2025, personnel retention has been healthy, even if they lost a couple to the hurling squad and a couple drifted away.
Murray looks at neighbours Wexford as an example of what can be achieved, consecutive promotions setting up glamour ties in Division 2 for them next spring against, Dublin, Tyrone, and Derry.
“If you look at Wexford, they’re an example of what you can do if you do manage to keep the same 24, 25 players there. You can whinge and you can cry about it all you want, but it’s up to the county to make the players want to stay.
“You just have to try and create an environment that lads are happy in, where lads know that they’re improving, that there’s a common goal that everyone is pulling towards. It’s up to players and management to create that environment.
“A couple of years ago we would have been beating them (Wexford) in Division 4. But fair play to them. They got their house in order and it’s easier said than done. A lot of counties down around the bottom of Division 4 and 3 will tell you that it’s not easy to keep those players and to build like they have.”
The aim in the Waterford camp is for progression in Division 4 of the league but the recent running was a case in disappointment with a string of defeats. The regret was immediate, two points up entering injury-time against Longford and ultimately defeated by one. That set the tone for what was to come.
No time to dwell on finishing bottom of the table and pointless. Three weeks ago they shipped 4-19 in a 13-point defeat to Tipperary. The rematch on Sunday takes place in Dungarvan, Waterford aiming to repeat their 2024 success, a game secondary school teacher Murray missed as he was in Australia then.
There have been bursts of optimism recently with four Munster championship wins across minor and U20 level in the last 23 days. As WLR journalist Jordan Norris pointed out, Waterford have won four Munster senior championship games in the last 37 years.
Short-term fixes are difficult, returning manager Ephie Fitzgerald is aware of that.
“He knows what Waterford football is all about,” says Murray of Fitzgerald.
“He’s not coming in thinking that he can turn it around straight away. He knows that it’s a two, three, four, five year job, whatever it may be. So it does give you that bit of confidence that he believes in Waterford football that if the right things are done, it can be turned around.
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“Ephie has done it all in the game, coming from Nemo, coming from Cork, he’s won All-Irelands with the Cork ladies. So if he believes it, I think it should be good enough for the players to believe it too.”
“We’re very familiar with each other from playing each other in the league and also a lot of clubs in Waterford and Tipp would play each other in challenges throughout the year as well. It’s a game we know that if we’re on it, if we get ourselves right and if we fix a few mistakes from the league, we have every chance of beating Tipp.”
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'It's an honour really, I can't go back and change my birth cert' - Life as a Waterford footballer
ROOTED TO THE bottom of the Division 4 table when the league wound up last month, without a point to their name after seven games.
A 2025 season that brought early defeat in Munster, held off by three by a Tipperary side they renew acquaintances with this Sunday as the championship commences.
A Tailteann Cup run last summer that delivered three from three in the defeats column
It prompts the question to Conor Murray, one of Waterford’s brightest attacking talents, as to where the motivation and commitment to persist stems from?
If from the outside it is judged as an unappealing pursuit, Murray offers insight into life on the inside.
“I don’t want to get too philosophical about it, but I think it’s one of the best things that you can do as a person. It’s a serious investment in yourself. What you’re doing in terms of preparation, you’re trying to look after yourself in the best way possible.
“People always ask the question, is it hard being an inter-county player? Yes, you do miss out on certain things. But the benefits you get from it, the friends you make that you wouldn’t make otherwise, going through a lot of tough days, you learn so much about yourself in that.”
What has the Rathgormack man learned?
“Just how to bounce back. You can’t just throw in the towel because you’re not winning. You take that with you in any aspect of life, that there will be bad day and they make the good days that bit more sweet.
“There’s a lot you can take from it, just from an everyday life point of view. There’s so much you can gain from being an inter-county player. Discipline is a big thing. Resilience. It’s an honour really.
“As a Waterford footballer, wins are few and far between. So if you’re playing to just win, you wouldn’t do it. Something that I always feel strongly about is that I’m from Waterford, I want to play football, so this is the best level I can possibly play at, given where I’m from. I can’t go back and change my birth cert. It’s just about wanting to be the best you can be.”
Player turnover is a constant recurring issue for Waterford. In the off-season since 2025, personnel retention has been healthy, even if they lost a couple to the hurling squad and a couple drifted away.
Murray looks at neighbours Wexford as an example of what can be achieved, consecutive promotions setting up glamour ties in Division 2 for them next spring against, Dublin, Tyrone, and Derry.
“If you look at Wexford, they’re an example of what you can do if you do manage to keep the same 24, 25 players there. You can whinge and you can cry about it all you want, but it’s up to the county to make the players want to stay.
“You just have to try and create an environment that lads are happy in, where lads know that they’re improving, that there’s a common goal that everyone is pulling towards. It’s up to players and management to create that environment.
“A couple of years ago we would have been beating them (Wexford) in Division 4. But fair play to them. They got their house in order and it’s easier said than done. A lot of counties down around the bottom of Division 4 and 3 will tell you that it’s not easy to keep those players and to build like they have.”
The aim in the Waterford camp is for progression in Division 4 of the league but the recent running was a case in disappointment with a string of defeats. The regret was immediate, two points up entering injury-time against Longford and ultimately defeated by one. That set the tone for what was to come.
No time to dwell on finishing bottom of the table and pointless. Three weeks ago they shipped 4-19 in a 13-point defeat to Tipperary. The rematch on Sunday takes place in Dungarvan, Waterford aiming to repeat their 2024 success, a game secondary school teacher Murray missed as he was in Australia then.
There have been bursts of optimism recently with four Munster championship wins across minor and U20 level in the last 23 days. As WLR journalist Jordan Norris pointed out, Waterford have won four Munster senior championship games in the last 37 years.
Short-term fixes are difficult, returning manager Ephie Fitzgerald is aware of that.
“He knows what Waterford football is all about,” says Murray of Fitzgerald.
“He’s not coming in thinking that he can turn it around straight away. He knows that it’s a two, three, four, five year job, whatever it may be. So it does give you that bit of confidence that he believes in Waterford football that if the right things are done, it can be turned around.
“Ephie has done it all in the game, coming from Nemo, coming from Cork, he’s won All-Irelands with the Cork ladies. So if he believes it, I think it should be good enough for the players to believe it too.”
“We’re very familiar with each other from playing each other in the league and also a lot of clubs in Waterford and Tipp would play each other in challenges throughout the year as well. It’s a game we know that if we’re on it, if we get ourselves right and if we fix a few mistakes from the league, we have every chance of beating Tipp.”
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Conor Murray GAA Munster Waterford