Michael Murphy is a ‘generational talent’ and will be a huge loss - Gallagher

Neil Gallagher has labelled Michael Murphy one of Gaelic football’s greatest ever - and says Donegal were privileged to have been able to enjoy his talent for 16 memorable seasons. 

They were clubmates, countymates, even roommates… but, most importantly, they are best mates. So Gallagher is probably more qualified than most to profile the man that carried the hopes and expectations of an entire county for more than a decade and a half.   

Growing up in the same parish of Glenswilly and being six years further down the track, Gallagher was the club’s original  headturner. But it wasn’t long before a young Murphy’s talents began to catch the eye. 

“Word on Michael was there from very early on,” said Gallagher. “Mick Murphy, his dad, would have been coaching us up through the years and he would have had Michael tailing along behind him all the time. 

“You’d see this wee lad flicking up the ball, soloing off both feet and then levelling it over the crossbar. It didn’t look right simply because he was just so young. And when he started to clip over frees off the ground, you really sat up and took notice.  

“But as he began to fill out and stretch, say at 12 or 13, you suddenly started to realise the club had a serious proposition on their hands. At underage games, he was just way ahead of everything else on the field.  

“Making development squads and eventually coming onto the senior panel at just 16, he was more than ready for that step up. People tend to forget now but we won the Intermediate Championship back in 2005.  

“It was a massive thing. But he came into the squad for that Ulster run. We were beaten in the final by a last minute goal. But he showed serious glimpses at that level that he was now going to take it to a whole other level. 

“And the rest really, as they say, is history. The 2007 run to the SFC final, he was absolutely immense, already the side’s best player. And it was that form that prompted the then Donegal boss Brian McIver to get in touch. 

“And he hit the ground running there as well - it didn’t faze him one bit. I mean, at 17, who does that? It’s unheard of really.” 

Gallagher shared a unique, almost telepathic, understanding with Murphy and that familiar direct ball in towards Donegal’s talismanic No. 14 usually resulted in a score of some description. But Gallagher said his role in that footballing duet was a simple one. 

“By the time the ball actually reached Michael it looked like you’d found him perfectly with the pass. But it was what Michael did in between the ball leaving your foot and landing on his chest, that was the real magic of him. 

“He was the one finding your pass, not the other way around. He just got to every single ball. The one that sticks out in my mind is the 2011 county final against St Michael’s. 

“We won a free out around the middle, and he was already gesturing for it to be sent in. I hesitated because there were three men on him. Two were literally hanging off him and one sweeping in front. 

“When it doesn’t come right away he lets rip, and I can still hear it now, clear as day, ‘Just kick the fecking thing in!’ 

So I did, and again it wasn’t the greatest of balls into the corner but he still got on the end of it, wrong side of the park, and somehow managed to swivel and angle it over the crossbar. Above everything else, that’s my finest memory of playing with him.

“For supporters, and I put myself in that same bracket now, going to Donegal games going forward and not getting to see Michael tear it up, there will be a real void.” 

From his athleticism to his tireless work ethic, Gallagher explains there were many contributing factors that made Murphy one of the greatest of all time.

But he says it was Murphy’s astonishing will to win that really set him so far apart from the rest. Even if it was just a game of cards or a round of golf, it was there to be won.

“For all the things he was naturally blessed with, talent, size or whatever; there is a ridiculously competitive streak there as well. We golf together, and a serious word mightn’t be exchanged for 12 or 13 holes. 

“But down the stretch the laughing suddenly stops, he’ll sink a putt and go, ‘that’s me two ahead’. 

“When we were in that bubble it was so serious, I mean every ounce of you was invested in it. But see the times in training camp or sitting around after, cooling off, they were some of the best times. 

“Or when you won a big game or an important championship, Michael was as much fun and craic as any man. Anyone that knows him well will tell you that. He’s brilliant company - can take the slagging and give it back. 

“And that’s one of the big things I miss about football and I’ve told him that as well, that he’ll miss it too. It’s that destination and journey thing people talk about. It’s so true. Believe me, if my body was able for it I’d still be playing away for the club. 

“But he’s going to get that real chance now to enjoy the next few years with the Glen. And believe me, Michael will still be the best club player in Donegal now for the next three to four years.”

But Murphy’s retirement isn’t just a blow for Donegal, Gallagher says that the level of plaudits coming his way in the last few days shows that inter-county football, across the board, has suffered a real loss. 

“He’s a generational talent, no doubt. Like, at that level now every single player is at an amazing standard. But there are still a cluster that just go above it all. 

“Like, a Diarmuid Connolly, a Murphy or even a David Clifford now, you can make all the provisions you want but so often there is very little you can actually do to stop the likes of those.

“I spent ages on Wednesday night reading through the tributes online. Michael’s phone is probably switched off because he’d be swamped. But I just hope Michael, his mum and dad, Mick and Mary, take some time out to just look at some of that. 

“It’s just unbelievable. And I know Donegal supporters will be so sad. But we should count ourselves so lucky to have actually had Michael and enjoyed what he did for Donegal. And who knows, down the line, we’ll see him back involved in some form or another. He’ll not sit still.”