After the Donegal All-Ireland-winning captain announced his return to intercounty action, we revisit our talk with Michael Murphy from back in late 2023. The greatest Gaelic Football player of his generation talks about how he juggled time on the fairways with time on the football field, what Shane Lowry is like with an O’Neills ball, and exactly how Donegal boss Jim McGuinness, Neil Gallagher and himself ended up inside the ropes at the Ryder Cup.
Home club and handicap?
My club at the moment is Ballyliffin where I’m an honorary member, but I’ve been a member in Letterkenny, Rosapenna and Narin and Portnoo as well. I’m playing off nine at the moment – 8.8 to be exact.
When did you first start playing golf and what drew you to it?
I was always mad into any sport and played a bit of pitch and putt, but the first year of secondary school really. In the summer I used to get dropped off at Letterkenny Golf Club when mum was going to work and got picked up in the evening when she was finished so I spent the nine hours out on the golf course. So that’s when it really started. I just loved it, it was a great age cohort – playing with people the same age – and you were outside in the good weather and I just loved trying to hit the ball around.
During your Donegal playing career, how hard was it to find time to get on the course?
It’s harder now with work and I’m doing a bit of coaching with my local GAA club, Glenswilly. This year alone I probably haven’t played more than 10 times, but when I was playing football, I would’ve played a lot more. It was a place of solace really. In the summers you’d be getting out three times a week. You’d go out on the gym days and non-football field training days and there’d be a good gang of us – Neil Gallagher, Rory Kavanagh, Colm McFadden, the two Thompsons [Ciaran and Anthony] – and we were blessed that we could go out almost anywhere in Donegal. When you’d be out around the third or fourth hole on those courses, you’re away from everything and it’s hard to beat for four hours.
You played in the Irish Open Pro-Am at Ballyliffin in 2018. What was it like playing in front of huge crowds in the sunshine?
It was one of the most nerve-wracking sporting experiences of my life. It was easier playing in front of 80,000 in Croke Park. You’re playing a sport that you’re not really accomplished at and at such a magnified level at an Irish Open. We played the back nine first along with Pablo Larrazabal, Stephen Ferris and Kieran Donaghy, I was the last to hit and I remember scuttering a 4-iron down the fairway. It wasn’t a great shot by any means but it got out there.
Yourself, Kieran Donaghy, Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne all took on a Gaelic football target challenge. What were Lowry and Dunne like with a size 5?
Fairly handy now, a lot better with a football than Donaghy and myself with a golf club, but yeah, both very accomplished and you could tell they’d played in their younger days. It was something that Ballyliffin brought in and put on the driving range, and we were trying to hit golf balls through from back up the range and then moved in closer and had a go with the footballs. With Shane’s father and uncles, there’s plenty of Gaelic Football pedigree there anyway.
You were spotted inside the ropes at the 2014 Ryder Cup? How did that come about and tell us about the experience?
Again, that was through Gaelic Football really. Paul McGinley was the captain and his father Mick senior is a huge follower of Donegal GAA and we got to know him really well. We’d always pick up a few rounds when he’d be up Donegal in the summer. Neil [Gallagher] and I got the opportunity to go to the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and we were just watching it on the first day – it was only a week after we’d lost the All-Ireland Final to Kerry – and we were on a par-3 and Paul and his father were driving down in a buggy and they saw us in behind the ropes and called us in. It was funny because everybody turned around to see who the hell they were gesturing towards, and that was us inside the ropes for the rest of the day. It was surreal, phenomenal to see that level of quality. For any sports I’ve seen, watching top level golfers hit a ball is something that’ll stick with me forever.
Who is the best player you’ve played with and what was it about them that impressed so much?
I’ve played with Paul [McGinley] himself in Rosapenna and played with Paul’s brother Mick Jr. a few times as well. He was as good as any I’ve seen really. I played with him in Dubai a couple of times, and he went round the course there in seven-under, so those two in particular stand out. What impressed most was their steadiness – a wild shot from us and we were out of the hole, a wild shot from them and they were just off the green.
Any particular favourites among the pro-golfing ranks?
Yes, I think we’ve all got a soft spot for Shane Lowry. I’ve met him a few times and he’s just such a down to earth fella, so modest and the skill he’s got around the greens, it’s just incredible. So yeah, I’d always look out for him, Paul McGinley, Padráig Harrington, all the Irish really.
Any GAA figures that are particularly impressive on the fairways?
There’s plenty. I was in college with Donie Shine from Roscommon. If he’s not off scratch he’s very close to it. Joe Canning as well, seen him a few times and very recently at Adare – he’s very low, possibly off two or three. Then Ciaran Thompson in Donegal, he’s really low as well and extremely good.
What’s the best course you’ve played and what’s top of the bucket list?
I’m probably a little biased towards Donegal, but Ballyliffin, Rosapenna, Portsalon, they’re all phenomenal courses and anywhere you go in Ireland or the world they’re up there with anything. They’re the ones that stick out for me, and Adare which I played a few weeks back was a great experience too. Bucket list? Like many people I suppose, you watch the pros at it and you see Augusta and you’re just so curious. They always say the undulations are much more severe and the TV doesn’t do it justice. Just to get there to see it would be great, whether to watch it or play it, I’d just love to get there.
Tell us about your own game. What are the strengths and weaknesses?
Consistency is probably everybody’s weakness, isn’t it. I suppose not getting to play that regularly, that’s always going to be the big one. When I’m playing a good bit, the driving is usually good and keeps you up and about, but chipping and in and around the greens, especially if you’re not playing that much, can be a challenge.
You’ve retired from intercounty football and moved into punditry, what’s it like being on the other side of the fence?
It’s definitely different. You’re still involved in football which is the constant in it, you’re still keen and following but watching and covering Donegal games was difficult because you were with the lads up until seven or eight months before. I’m just grateful to still be involved in football though, even though you’re not on the pitch, you’re watching games and trying to contribute to them in some way. It’s a challenge, it’s a transition in life but I always knew it would come and between a little bit of coaching and still playing with the club, I’m still involved.
How does commentary compare with the pre- and post-game analysis?
They’re completely different sides as I found out pretty quickly. With the punditry you’ve got that bit more time to get your thoughts together but the commentary is instant. Both are an art you’ve got to learn but the commentary is certainly more difficult. I’ve been lucky to have some really good and experienced co-commentators that helped plug the gap when I was lost for words.
How difficult is it to sit and watch your former teammates play a big match?
It was difficult. As I said, you’ve shared a dressing room with the lads and to see them go through a difficult year was tough. But I felt I’d given everything I had to give and there was a certain comfort in that decision, but when it’s your own county and your own friends and they’re battling away, of course there was a little edge in you thinking it would be nice to be out there with them. But it requires seven or eight months of preparation, and I was fortunate enough to be able to give that for a long time, but I knew that that’s what would’ve been required again and I just wasn’t able to push on it again.
Having been so involved in team sports, how do you think you’d have coped as a pro in a solitary sport like golf?
The only real experience I had in an individual sport – besides a bit of athletics and recreational golf – was during COVID when we all had to train individually. It was definitely an added challenge. Team sports provide you with a camaraderie, different characters who bring something new and vibrant every day whereas in golf, you’re on your own and can only rely on yourself and yourself alone. You have to motivate yourself day in and day out without the added support of teammates. So, I think if I was in golf – and fortunate enough to be able to afford it – I’d be trying to surround myself with a big team so I wouldn’t be too isolated.
