EVENTS CALENDAR
The Big Interview
Murphy Calls time on great Career
Evening Echo 15th June 2013
Six-time All-Ireland winner Juliet Murphy reveals to Mary White her reasons for retiring from club and county football
THEREâS just one All-Ireland medal visible in Juliet Murphyâs room; sheâs not really sure where the other six are. It hangs solo on a corkboard alongside snapshots of her last time winning the Brendan Martin Cup in Croke Park.
Her mother knows where the other medals are, perhaps in a box at home in Donoughmore, but what Juliet does know is that when she hung it last December, it was the beginning of the end.
It wasnât a solitary moment that enticed her to retire from both club and county football, rather a series of events that triggered the decision. Lacking in motivation over the winter months was perhaps the biggest underlining factor in what was a mammoth decision for the three-time All-Ireland-winning captain.
Sitting in a quiet corner of The Bodega, impeccably dressed in peach and grey, Murphy speaks in that unassuming, matter-of-fact tone of hers. But momentarily, you can tell, this isnât like any interview sheâs done before.
âIâm finding this hard,â she confides.
âI knew it would be difficult. I knew once I said it and the words went out, there would be no turning back. I feel a bit emotional about it now.
âIâd hate to go back and struggle with motivation, I was never lacking in that, but I know thatâs not in me anymore,â she says, ending months of speculation as to whether sheâd return to Eamonn Ryanâs ranks, just as Angela Walsh, Deirdre OâReilly and Nollaig Cleary did towards the latter stages of the league.
Ryan had subtly left the door open, Angela text, Briege (Corkery) rang, and Nollaig met with her, all trying to get the five-time All-Star to return. But, her decisionâs made; and sheâs at peace with it.
âThe girlsâ return probably made me consolidate in my own decision, and then I felt with them back, the team was solid. I wanted to finish knowing that the team was strong.â
She didnât necessarily know last October when Cork won their seventh All-Ireland title that it would be her last time playing in Croker. The county final against Inch Rovers however was a different story.
âWhen we lost, coming off the field, I certainly felt it might have been my last game with the club. In the dressing room after people were quite upset, but probably more so because we knew the team was going to break up. Regina (Curtin) and Linda (Barrett) were going to Australia, and Mossie (Barrett) was leaving after 16 years, and the words he spoke that night, I just knew it would be my last time.â
A former international basketballer and All-Ireland-winning roadbowler, Murphy was 13 when she first wore the black and ivory for the mid-Cork parish, with whom sheâs won two senior All-Ireland club medals, 11 Munster and 13 county championships.
She remembers phoning SÃle Kiely from the her parentsâ upstairs bedroom asking could she join, before cycling her way to Stuake to train with the likes of Kiely and Hanora Kelleher; her role models.
Like many of the players sheâs had the honour of playing with, she remembers too togging out with the boys in primary school. It was a final against Ovens NS and a certain âblondie fellaâ on the opposing team laughed at the sight of the footballer with the ponytail. But two teammates, Daniel Harrington and Patrick Sullivan, got the better of him with a shoulder, knowing it would be Murphy that would break him in two, and not the other way around.
It was the start of an amazing career which yielded seven All-Irelands, six Division 1 league titles, one Division 2 title and nine successive Munster titles, not to mention the LGFAâs inaugural Playersâ Player of the Year award, five All-Stars, a club All-Ireland MVP and numerous other accolades.
But awards were never her thing, admitting sheâs probably âoverly blazayâ about them. She was always more comfortable out of the spotlight despite being the most eloquent ambassador for the sport, perhaps ever.
For the majority of her club career Donoughmore were the Kingpins and the envy of the county, but the 33-year-old recalls how hard it took to get to the top â first winning the junior and intermediate county titles, before making it onto the domestic senior stage.
Youâd forget all that went before their 11-year run of dominance (1996-2006), but they grafted to get there, and Murphy in midfield at the crux of every game.
Getting over the hump that was Ballymacarbery in the Munster Senior Championship was a major personal coup. The year before they ended the Waterford girlsâ 13-year reign in 2001, they came close, trailing by a point at half-time in Ballincollig. But they ended up losing by 17 points, with Ãine Wall hitting 16 of Ballymacâs 31.
It was a learning curve, and Murphyâs had her share of hammerings with club, just as she did with Cork prior to Eamonn Ryanâs (below) takeover in 2004.
Thereâs a memory bank galore that would make for a great biography some day. A smile glides across her face as she sips her coffee and tells how Mossie Barrett broke his hand on a dressing room door prior to a county final.
Or with Cork it was the banter heading west to Castletownbere to celebrate their third All-Ireland win; a promise the team made to Bearaâs Amanda Murphy many moons previous. From the bonfires that illuminated the entire road west, to Rockchapelâs Norma Kelly attired in a garda hat out the car window.
The craic sheâll miss, and the chemistry too.
âItâs always been about the buzz of playing, knowing where someoneâs going to run, the chemistry. Itâs always been about that and the craic; the bus journeys from Quinnâs to the hotel, or after winning an All-Ireland.
âI remember with Donoughmore weâd drive in convoy and it was always a thing where weâd stop and all drive into the field together and announce âweâve arrivedâ. Thereâs loads of things like that and those memories far outweigh any award.â
Despite being the face of Cork ladies football for almost 15 years, Donoughmore was always close to her heart, and her gratitude to the likes of the clubâs Mags OâConnor, the Barrett family, and the players who stood shoulder to shoulder with her in black is almost tangible as she reflects on it all.
There was a time when she wouldnât have stood next too those who would wear a Cork jersey with her in the years to come, with club rivalries so high it was detrimental to the intercounty cause. But in came Ryan, breaking down barriers, and kickstarting her county career.
âI remember being in The Commons Bar when he met us first. I think he was brought in for a couple of weeks until we actually got someone full-time, and that was the deal, thatâs how Mary Collins got him⦠and sure once we got him, we held onto him!
âI donât remember specifically what he spoke about, but he did mention winning an All-Ireland. There was a sheet handed out, which I still have, with things like fruit and water and all these things that we were going to have, and I remember thinking âWow, this is unrealâ. It just seemed like there was such a professional element coming into it.
âHe made us feel like we were worth something and we bought into that.
âThere was massive friction between clubs and there was no unity there at all, at all, and itâs amazing how he actually broke down those barriers.â
Sheâs made friends for life since, but is all too aware that some connections will now likely fade with time.
âIâll miss the girls, and itâs only natural that our connection is football, and when you take that away there is an inevitability that youâll lose some contact. But I suppose as you get older you just realise thatâs what happens, youâre more accepting of it,â said Murphy, who will now have more time to concentrate on her gym in Ballincollig, as well as her day job as a primary school teacher in Scoil Bhride in Crosshaven.
Her former comrades won their seventh National League title last month when they defeated Mayo, and had she been playing, Murphy would have missed her nieceâs Holy Communion; it would have been just another sacrifice.
Instead, she watched in the conservatory at home with her family.
âI felt great once they won!â she laughs.
âI can honestly say I didnât feel like âI want to be out thereâ. I didnât feel resentment or frustration, I just wanted them to win.â
Having missed so many family milestones over the years, it was nice to share this one.
Her older brothers Patrick, Seán and Ollie, younger sister Maggie and her parents, Michael and Mary, sheâs forever indebted to.
âTheyâve been so understanding, Iâve probably let them down more times than anybody, but theyâve always understood.â
Her parents will perhaps feel Julietâs retirement more so than her siblings, and she knows it too.
âItâs very easy to be egotistical about it and say âThis is a big decision for meâ, but itâs going to leave as much a void for my parents as it is for me because theyâve supported me all thethe whole way.
âDadâs obsessed with sport and he began taking me to basketball when I was 14. Then there was Donoughmore for so long, then Cork, and theyâve had an amazing time, and I acknowledge that for any parent going through that journey with their children itâs special.
âTheyâve been wonderful, and kept me completely grounded. I have them totally to be thankful for, and my brothers and my sister.
âWhen youâre successful itâs easy to make assumptions like âSure youâre going to win anywayâ, but they always kept me on my toes.â
There was a time though she was overly hard on herself, but the honesty that she speaks of at the heart of the Cork camp helped.
âThatâs one of the unique things about the team, in that someone wouldnât be afraid to say something regardless of the consequences; that honesty is so important.
âI remember very early on Valerie and myself would have had some very frank conversations because I would be very pessimistic coming into an All-Ireland final and Val was like, âThis is what itâs all about, you donât do all this training just to fret, this is where you get to performâ, and that was always her attitude.
âI definitely was overly sensitive; I just lacked confidence. I focused on the negative things I got wrong in a game, but then again maybe thatâs what made me the player I was; it was part of my make-up.â
Gradually, she learned to adapt.
âI suppose it came with getting older, getting less self-critical I guess, and more self-belief; if you donât have that then itâs a constant battle.â
Her relationship with Ryan is a special one â although sheâll tell you he has good relations with every player â but you can tell, thereâs a bond there like no other.
âThe true leader is Eamonn. He was the one that would build your confidence and the very unique thing about him, is that no matter how long youâre playing for him, you always want to impress him. If it was just the most basic of things you still wanted to impress him, it never got old.
âHe just has something. Heâs very well read and knowledgeable about the game, but heâs also into the psychology of it. He lets on heâs a bog man but heâs so in touch with players and so clued in.â
to whatâs going on.â
All thatâs left then is to thank those whoâve played central roles in her career.
âFrankie (Honahan), even though heâs my uncle-in-law, I travelled to games with him and just the conversation, the chat, ill miss that, heFrankie was so good to me.
âAll the Cork selectors, like James OâCallaghan, Justin McCarthy and Noel OâConnor, who do thankless work. Mary Collins deserves a really special mention because she stepped in right from the start, and Jim McEvoy who brought a professionalism from working with the Cork hurlers.
âMags OâConnor of Donoughmore, has been a rock. The club itself, Mossie and Thomas, and the Barrett family, and all the girls Iâve played with, the likes of SÃle (Kiely), Hanora (Kelleher) and the Emer Walshs and Aisling OâConnors of this world.
âAnd then thereâs Eamonn. I canât say enough about him. I donât have words to articulate what he means to everyone. and what heâs done. And as much as heâd hate to be singled out, I think he needs to be.â
And with that, she bows her head and says âSin éâ.
You can follow Mary White on Twitter on @mary_white33