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Article December Week 3 2004
Donie Murphy, A forgotten Kerry Football Legend

The recently published Story Of The O’Donoghue Cup is a superb production and a credit to all involved, it will become a collectors item in the decades to come and a wonderful informative reference book to future generation of GAA historians. Well done to the committee responsible and in particular to that exemplary East Kerry Board PRO John o Leary who, through his commitment, hard work, communicative skills and boundless energy brought this production to fruition, and once again the leadership of board chairman Ger Galvin comes shinning through, it make the perfect Xmas present especially for loved ones abroad.


And so it gives me great pleasure to write about a man who holds a very special place in the story of the O' Donoghue Cup, the former great Kerry defender and one of my own clubmen, Donie Murphy who was the very first man as captain to accept this now famous trophy fifty long years ago as The Legion won the new trophy, his story is one of victory and defeat, agony and ecstasy, bitter disappointment as serious illness cruelly prevented him from being a member of one of Kerry’s greats ever victories in 1955.


Donal Brendan Murphy was one of a family of three boys, he was born at Southhill in 1929 in the town land of Coolclogher two miles just off the Killarney/ Kenmare road and it was here in an area known as the river field on the banks of the river flesk that Donie Murphy began his football education, that which would see him achieve all his boyhood dreams on the playing fields of Ireland, culminating before a record attendance of 85,155 in Croke park in 1953 as his beloved Kerry defeated Armagh in a dramatic senior Al Ireland final.


It was as inevitable as night follows day that the three boys would play for the Legion club as they are the first cousins to Kerry’s most famous footballing family the Lyne brothers of Cleeney and Donie as he was known to one and all spent long summer evenings with his brothers and boyhood friends playing football in the river field until darkness fell, ' I learned all my football skills of catching and long kicking here on the banks of the Flesk and they would stand me in good stead in the years ahead', he recalled when I spoke to him recently. One of his boyhood friends from all those long years ago Paddy Slattery has vivid memories of the budding Kerry star,' Donie was always far better than the rest of the gang, he was forever trying to improve his game, and more importantly he was always present and never missed an evening as our matches lasted long into the darkness'.


It was very evident chatting with Donie that he was a great listener as he recalled former Kerry stars Timmy o Leary and Paddy Dillon passing on the secrets of Kerry football to him, 'I would met these two great friends, now sadly both have passed away and they always made a point to stop and say hello and enquire about my football and even now after all these years the gentleness and politeness of these two boyhood heroes remains forever in my memory, they were my inspiration'. Donie went to school in the Killarney Monastery and then moved across the road to the great football nursery of St. Brendan's College helping them to Kerry cup wins in 1946-'47 and he was then chosen for the Munster Colleges side and went on to win his first All Ireland medal with them, it was Inter Provincial competition in those days.


On October 6th 1946 before a massive gathering of 75,771 Donie lined out at left corner back as the Kerry minors faced Dublin in the All Ireland final at Croke Park and lining out with him was another young lad who had also learned his football on the banks of the river Flesk, Johnny o Brien also from The Legion club, Donie held one Kevin Hefffernan to a point as Kerry won 3-7 to 2-3, Johnny goaling late in the game and a beautiful memory from that day remains with Donie as he recalls the ecstatic Kerry supporters in the long stand singing,' roll out the barrel we've got the blues on the run, roll out the barrel we're having a barrel of fun, we had some great players on that side, Tom Moriarty was captain, Tom Ash, Paddy Godley, John Joe Sheehan and others'. That same year and still just seventeen years of age he was a sub. As The Legion won the senior county championship, and then the following year he was an automatic on the Kerry minor team, defeat in the All Semi final was their lot as Mayo won, 0-7 to 1-1. The Kerry junior selectors came calling and as he recalls, ' we were flying in the final against Meath until Tom Spillane for some unknown reason was sent off and five hours later I was bitterly disappointed when my favourite cousin Denny Lyne was captain as Kerry lost to Cavan in the Polo grounds New York'.


An honour laden under age career behind him Donie made his senior debut for The Kingdom against Clare on July 10th 1948, he takes up the story of that unforgettable day in his life, 'I was picked as a sub for that Ballybonnion game, however the great Paddy 'Bawn' Brosnan failed to reach port at Dingle with his fishing boat, did not make the trip and I stood in and lined out at corner back as we beat Clare in the championship, 6-6 to 1-8. It was a memorable experience for a young fellow like me from Muckross as I togged out with such legends as Dan Kavanagh, Eddie Dowling, Batt Garvey, Jackie and Denny Lyne, Dano Keeffe, and Joe Keohane, they all gave me great advice and support'. The 'Bawn' returned for the Munster final, Kerry won, and Donie collected his firse Munster senior medal, he played in that years league, Kerry lost sensationally to Clare the following year and then in 1951 Donie made his Croke Park Senior debut as Mayo beat Kerry in the Semi-Final.


Now all these years later he recalls the great disappointment of that draw and re-play with Mayo, 'we were four points up going into lost time, Eamon Mongey got possession and his high centre was flicked to the net by Tom Langan, Paddy Irwin fielded the kick out, pointed, and the game finished in a draw, we lost the re-play and Mayo went on to win the All Ireland, however I was picked for the Munster team later that year, but that Mayo defeat was heart breaking'.


Sunday 27th. Sept. 1953 is a date which will remain with Donie Murphy for the remainder of his life, before a massive crowd of 85,000 with thousands more locked out The Legion man played the greatest game of his career as Kerry defeated Armagh in what was for them their Jubilee title, fifty years previously in 1903 Kerry had won their first. His recollections of that day are as vivid as they were fifty one years ago in particular one incident which has gone down in Kerry folklore. 'Six minutes from the final whistle we were leading by two points, Armagh were coming at us in waves of attack, I had held my man scoreless over the hour, then it happened, our goalie Johnny Foley brought down a high shot from Brian Seeley, failed to gather the ball at first, then picked it from the ground, the referee said it was clean off the ground, he signalled a penalty, which I still believe was a very harsh decision. You could cut the tension as Bill McCorrry came up to take the penalty, I now admit I said a little prayer that he would miss, and he did , the pressure was to great, he blazed it wide, you asked was he interfered with as he began his run to take the kick, well, lets say that there was a bit of jostling going on alright, I'll say no more, it's history now. We held out and my dream had come true, it was along way from the little field on the banks of the Flesk where I learned my football, the greatest day of my life'.


In 1954 Kerry lost to Meath in the final as collective training was banned, that same year Donie captained The Legion to win the oDonoghue Cup, it was the first time it was played for and as it was called after his club president it was he stressed,' a great honour for me and the club, and my late mother was was as proud as punch, my two brothers were also on the team and my mother had tremendous respect for Dr, o Donoghue after whom the cup was called'.


1955 dawned and the Killarney stalwart was now at the height of his powers, recognised as one of the finest defenders in the 32 counties, little did he think however as he pulled on the hallowed green and gold jersey before the Munster final in Killarney against Cork that it was the very last time he would wear the colours he loved so much. The six foot four, twelve and a half stone towering corned back was about to play his last game for Kerry. A bout of pleurisy in his student days had left it's mark, he starred now at full back as Kerry won 0-14 to 2-6, he became ill after the match, was diagnosed with the then very serious illness of tuberculosis, spent seventeen months in hospital, underwent an operation, and when Kerry defeated Dublin in that historic 1955 final the team visited him in hospital with the Sam Maguire Cup, his Legion team mate Johnny Culloty made his final debut that day. ' it was of course a very traumatic time of my life' Donie told me, ' however thank God for that one All Ireland medal, many great players have none'.


Donie Murphy lined out just once more with his club, in August 1959, he answered the call in a county championship match against South Kerry in Caherceiveen, I myself was in goal that day and I can vividly recall this huge towering powerful man fielding and clearing everything that dropped in our square, on that one game alone Donie left a lasting impression on my football memories. He helped Dick Fitzgerald's to win the 1951 Kerry county championship, hurled with Killarney, won a Fitzgibbon Cup Medal with UCG, and rowed with Flesk Valley. He helped UCG to Sigerson Cup Victory, was selected on the combined universities team, and to copper fasten his greatness was selected for the Irish team in 1955, this was the forerunner to the present All Stars
His work as an Agriculture Instructor brought him to Kilkenny in 1960, he became chairman of the Clan Na Gael club, trained and played with them and won two senior county championships, and lined out with the Kilkenny juniors at full forward in 1964, Kildare beat them, it was Donie's last ever game, he retired after 25 years bringing to an end a career which had begun on the banks of the Flesk river all those years ago. He has long since retired from his job with the Mayo Agriculture Department where he still resides, married to Pauline, they have three daughters and one son.


This is only a brief look at the sporting life of the first man to be presented with the O'Donoghue Cup and indeed only for the recent publication about that trophy which prompted these words the magnificent career of Donie Murphy would remain unheard, untold, unrecorded and unsung, how good was he', his team mate the late Jackie Lyne who trained two All Ireland winning Kerry sides once said of him, ' he was the greatest corner back I ever saw and what would he have achieved only for sickness, we will never know.