Murphy played his club hurling with Blackrock and his club Gaelic football with St. Michael's and enjoyed much success. In 1971 he lined out in his first senior hurling decider as Blackrock faced St. Finbarr's. After a decade in the doldrums the Rockies were back and a 2-19 to 5-4 victory secured a championship medal for Murphy. Blackrock subsequently represented Cork in the provincial series of games and faced Moyne-Templetuohy in the decider. An impressive 4-10 to 3-1 victory gave Murphy a Munster medal. The subsequent All-Ireland decider pitted Blackrock against Rathnure. A high-scoring game followed, however, a narrow 5-13 to 6-9 victory gave Murphy an All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship medal.
Minor and under-21
Murphy first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a dual player with the Cork minor hurling and football teams in 1966. With the hurlers he collected a Munster medal following a 6-7 to 2-8 defeat of Galway. Cork later faced Wexford in the All-Ireland decider, however, a high-scoring 6-7 apiece draw was the result. The replay was much more conclusive with Wexford claiming a 4-1 to 1-8 victory. With the Cork minor football team Murphy won a Munster medal following a 5-12 to 1-7 defeat of Kerry. In 1967 Murphy added a second Munster hurling medal to his collection following a 4-10 to 0-3 rout of Limerick. Cork later faced Wexford in the All-Ireland decider once again. A 2-15 to 5-3 victory gave Murphy an All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship medal. That same year he also collected a second Munster football medal as Kerry were bested once again. A subsequent 5-14 to 2-3 trouncing of Laois gave Murphy an All-Ireland medal. Murphy progressed onto both Cork under-21 teams in 1968 and enjoyed immediate success on one of the most successful hurling teams of all-time in that grade. Tipperary were bested by 4-10 to 1-13 to secure a first Munster medal. Murphy was later on the starting fifteen for the All-Ireland decider against Kilkenny. A 2-18 to 3-9 victory gave him his first All-Ireland medal in that grade. In 1969 Cork had an even more comprehensive victory over Tipp in the provincial decider and Murphy added a second Munster hurling medal to his collection. Old rivals Wexford provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final and a high-scoring game ensued. A 5-13 to 4-7 victory gave Murphy a second consecutive All-Ireland medal. Murphy won a third successive Munster under-21 hurling medal in 1970 following a 3-11 to 2-7 defeat of Tipperary. Cork faced their old rivals Wexford in the subsequent All-Ireland decider, however, that game ended in a draw. In the replay Cork went into overdrive and Murphy won a third All-Ireland medal following a 5-17 to 0-8 thrashing. That same year he won his sole Munster under-21 football medal following a 5-12 to 1-7 trouncing of Clare. The subsequent All-Ireland decider pitted Cork against Fermanagh. A 2-11 to 0-9 victory gave Murphy an All-Ireland medal in that code.
Senior
Murphy joined the Cork senior hurling team during the successful 1969-70 National League campaign. An aggregate 5-21 to 6-16 defeat of New York gave him his first National Hurling League medal. Murphy was later included on the championship panel, however, he was an unused substitute for Cork's provincial triumph. Cork later qualified for the All-Ireland final with Wexford providing the opposition in the very first eighty-minute championship decider. The game saw a record 64-point score line for both teams as Cork's Eddie O'Brien scored a hat-trick of goals to give Cork a considerable lead. At the full-time whistle Cork were the winners by 6-21 to 5-10. Murphy was introduced as a substitute during the game and collected an All-Ireland medal on the field of play. Murphy was dropped from the panel the following year, however, he was reinstated during the 1971-72 National League. A defeat of Limerick gave him a second National League medal, however, Murphy was dropped from the panel for the subsequent championship campaign.
