At the age of 32 the Mr Consistency of the Waterford full back line has decided to call it a day on the inter county front.
Remarkably Murphy only earned two All Star nominations (2004 and 2006) and one All Star in 2006. That fact is more a reflection of the overall perception of Waterford’s inner line than Murphy’s individual efforts. The excellence of Michael Kavanagh, Jackie Tyrell and Ollie Canning in particular also denied him year after year.
Murphy began life in the senior set-up under Gerald McCarthy as a wing forward but quickly displayed his abilities as a defender. He was a classy operator in his own quietly effective manner and used his pace, neat touches and sharp hurling brain to get him out of any difficulty he encountered. He relished clashes with Eoin Kelly and Joe Deane in particular as he often proved the best man marker for the opposition’s star corner forward. Interestingly when interviewed by the Examiner last week he identified Richie Power as his toughest opponent. “He was one of the most skilful players I ever marked. It was as if he had Superglue on his hurley, the way he controlled the ball.”
The breakthrough Munster final of 2002 and unforgettable 2004 decider mark obvious stand out moments in his ten years of service but receiving All Star recognition in 2006 rubberstamped his worth. The start of that particular summer promised little. With Eoin Kelly in red hot form, Tipperary dismantled the Déise by 3-14 to 1-12. Dan Shanahan recalls that game in his autobiography. “We didn’t even have our best man-marker on him. Justin had Eoin Murphy in the other corner – why didn’t he put him on Kelly? It didn’t make sense to me to have a defender on your team who’d always done well on the opposition’s most dangerous forward and not to use him on that forward.” When the sides crossed paths again at Croke Park in the All Ireland quarter final the team and management corrected the mistakes. Murphy tracked Kelly and despite shooting 1-8, only two points came from play. In the semi final that followed against Cork, Joe Deane was held scoreless from play as Waterford came up a point short by close of play. Even in defeat Murphy never allowed his standards to drop and outstanding back to back showings on the Croke Park stage earned national acknowledgement.
With the ups came the downs. Despite winning Munster and National league medals in 2007, the All Ireland semi final defeat left a sour taste. Limerick’s full forward line of Andrew O’Shaughnessy, Brian Begley and Donie Ryan contributed all five of the goals that eliminated Waterford for another year. In the 2008 All Ireland final the corner back became part of the plan to put Kilkenny off their game early on. For a polished performer like Murphy, those actions were out of kilter with his character. Despite these setbacks he continued to fight off all challengers for his shirt in the next two championships winning his fourth Munster title in 2010.
At the start of 2011 Murphy’s number two shirt came under threat from Darragh Fives with the Limerick game on the horizon. One evening at Cappoquin in an intermediate club game changed everything however. On that Friday of the May Bank Holiday weekend his club Shamrocks were taking on Abbeyside as he chased down an opponent but found himself in the wrong place when the player attempted to strike. “My first thought was that something serious had happened” he recalled in an interview with Vincent Hogan this July. “Just this sensation of bones breaking inside your head. When I went down, I deliberately stayed motionless because I wasn't sure what had actually cracked.” The result was a fractured skull and from that moment his chances of reappearing on the inter county circuit looked slim.
Murphy was well respected in the Waterford dressing room and went about his business in an understated way. Under both Justin McCarthy and Davy Fitzgerald he was recognised as a reliable, dependable defender and while numerous players shifted among the back line Murphy remained the one constant. Until his head injury, he played every championship minute under Fitzgerald’s watch.
Another testament to Murphy’s character is that he maintained contact with the panel throughout this year’s championship and returned to light training at the latter end of the campaign. “I feel that if I can even contribute 1pc then it's worth doing,” he said at the time. “So, I was delighted when Davy said he'd like to have me around. I mean, it's been a way of life to me anyway for 10 years now and I was missing going in.”
For the new breed of Waterford players set to graduate to the senior ranks in the coming years, the manner that Murphy conducted himself both on and off the field is one to follow.
Eoin Murphy Stats
Championship debut: Munster championship 2001 v Limerick
Championship appearances: 42
Munster titles: 4 (2002, 2004, 2007, 2010)
National League: 1 (2007)
All Stars: 1 (2006)
2006 – Corner Back
All Star nomination 2004
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