Glenswilly manager McDaid says return of 'fountain of knowledge' Murphy has been vital for Donegal success

Irish Examiner

5 days ago

It was mid-October last when the bush telegraph in Donegal began to ring about Michael Murphy's inter-county return.
Confirmation came in the first week of November but there had been rumblings in the county. Donegal's 1992 All-Ireland winning manager Brian McEniff wrote of the rumours in his 'Donegal Live' column, argued he had more to give and the new rules would suit him.
For Glenswilly manager Gary McDaid, the chatter started soon after the seniors went out of the championship to Dungloe on September 21. Murphy was spotted on the pitch in Páirc Naomh Columba as the U21s were training for the championship.
'He was running away himself,' recounted McDaid. 'People were wondering, 'What's going on here? Is he just trying to get his body right for next year, for the club, or what's he at?'
'But everybody soon realised something was up. That he might be going back to Donegal and he was getting ready for road and seeing if his body was going be able to live up to the demands of inter-county after being away for two years.'
McDaid estimates Murphy spent up to 10 weeks on his own before rejoining the panel. 'I would have never discussed this with him, but he felt himself that the body was good and, listen, it's obviously been to Donegal's benefit, he's our top scorer in the championship with 44 points.
'The semi-final against Galway last year, a lot of people would have felt if Michael Murphy had been there, we would have won and God knows what would have happened in the final then. We lost by two to Galway, had a free late on to put us one up, and it went wide.'
The condition of Murphy, who celebrates his 36th birthday in a couple of weeks, impresses McDaid. 'To be as lean as that, it takes great mental strength. He just looks really athletic, really strong, not carrying any timber, as the man would say. When you head over that 30 mark, it's a lot harder to keep the body fat down, and to keep lean, and to keep match fit.'
Meath's Adam O'Neill and Michael Murphy leap to catch the ball. File picture: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
Murphy's understanding of when he can and can't push it is deep and his game intelligence has always been high. He has been coaching since a teenager. When he repeated the Leaving Cert, he was too old for the McRory Cup and assisted McDaid in preparing St Eunan's College team.
He is now the coaching officer in Glenswilly and in the couple of years he had been away from the inter-county scene immersed himself in under-age coaching at both county and club level. 'We won our first ever county under-age Division 1 title a couple of years ago, a minor title at U18, and he was a manager. We beat Glenties in the final.
'He's just a fountain of knowledge for all the under-age coaches. He's very helpful and sharing and always giving wee pointers to all the coaches.'
Murphy has not finished a game since the final group win over Mayo. Since then, he has been taken off midway through the second half of the Louth and Meath wins when Donegal were well on their way to victory. In their rutting of Monaghan in the second half of their All-Ireland quarter-final, he came off in the 67th minute.
McDaid suggests his club-mate could come off and return to the fray on Sunday similar to another Ulster star against The Kingdom in the final 20 years ago.
'I'm delighted to see what's happening this year, because I would have always said for years, in his heyday, that he would have been kept on in games that he didn't need to be kept on. We would have done that (substituting him) a lot at the club when we thought we were in a good position and comfortable.
'Yes, we're relying on Michael now but we have super cover on the bench as well. I expect we will see more of him on Sunday but could you see Donegal doing a Peter Canavan and bringing him off and bringing him on like Tyrone did in 2005? Jesus, it'd be wild, It'd be unbelievable to have him coming on going down the home straight. You need him in the melting pot.'