Mac's View: End of an era with Michael Murphy retirement

He has been to the forefront of the Donegal senior team now for 20 years since his debut against Leitrim up in Carrick-on-Shannon in 2007. In some cases we might say about someone that we will only realise how good they were when they are gone. But that is not the case with Michael Murphy.

The Glenswilly man has been the heartbeat of Donegal over the greatest period in our history. Before Murphy arrived, followed by Jim McGuinness, we had won five Ulster titles and one All-Ireland. I was privileged to be involved in them.

But what has happened under the captaincy and leadership of Michael Murphy in such a short period of time was wonderful. Seven Ulster titles and an All-Ireland as well as National Leagues in Division 1 and 2. He played 200 times for Donegal and never gave anything less than 100%.

Forget about the successes and the longevity, the joy of watching the big man play Gaelic football was the greatest memory. He perfected all the skills and his competitive streak rubbed off on his teammates.

Then, of course, off the field he was a perfect gentleman and a real ambassador for Donegal. I heard the funny comment made by Eamon McGee last week about Michael, saying that there were two people in Donegal that you don’t criticise, Daniel O’Donnell and Michael Murphy, and he is right.

The best compliment I ever heard about Michael came from one of the greats, Larry Tompkins of Cork. I was talking to him and he said that Murphy was the best footballer in Ireland for 10 years.

But the greatest compliment I can give him is that he was such a modest boy. A powerfully strong man and just a super footballer. The amount of games he won for us. He was a very special talent.

Donegal’s loss will be Glenswilly’s gain as Michael will now be able to enjoy club football. Given that he was probably the best forward in the recent club championship, and Glenswilly were unlucky not to make the county final, their odds for 2027 might be worth looking at.

Thank you Michael for all you have given Donegal and enjoy your retirement.

The absence of Michael Murphy from the Donegal set-up for 2027 along with the loss of Finnbarr Roarty will be massive. There is a worrying injury to captain Michael Langan and we are still not aware of what the full backroom and panel might look like for the coming year.

I’m hearing that there is a challenge game arranged for Towney, Kilcar on the Saturday before Christmas (19th December) against Westmeath, which is something to look forward to. It will pit Mark McHugh’s side against Donegal for the first time since he took over and they come to Towney as Leinster champions.

GOOD WINS IN ULSTER

As I expected, St Eunan's were too strong for Erne Gaels in the Ulster Club Championship on Saturday evening in Brewster Park, Enniskillen. There is one thing that the Letterkenny side seem to be good at is getting out of the blocks and they dominated the game for a good part.

Although Erne Gaels came back, St Eunan’s pulled away before and after half-time and the game as a contest was probably over once Conor O’Donnell jnr got the only goal of the game.

There will be tougher days ahead for St Eunan’s with Scotstown, the reigning Ulster champions, up next, but they will have learned a lot from this game and it will give them some confidence.

They will need to get Niall O’Donnell home from the US for that semi-final because one of the things that they may lack is having a heavy hitter on the bench. O’Donnell could provide that.

Last weekend’s quarter-finals showed just how competitive and special the Ulster Club Championship is. St Eunan’s win was the only game with a margin of victory. The other three were won by a single point with the Scotstown-Magherafelt game going to extra-time.

Two of those games were on TV and I felt sorry for Gowna against Crossmaglen on Saturday evening, beaten by a two pointer from Rian O’Neill with the last kick. It was a great score but like many I felt Gowna had a case that it was not a free which led to the score.

The Scotstown game on Sunday on TG4 was a cracker and it went all the way to extra-time. The Monaghan champions have nine county players in their panel and look very strong.

We must not forget Naomh Padraig, Muff, who also advanced to the Ulster semi-final at the weekend with a last gasp goal to defeat Kinawley in Brewster Park on Sunday. The Muff club have been making great strides from junior to intermediate and will play senior next year. They now have a great chance of making a second Ulster final in three years, as they won the junior title at their first attempt.

The news that Finn Harps are looking to play some of their games next year in MacCumhaill Park while Finn Park is being refurbished is interesting. I think there is no reason, as long as it can be accommodated in the MacCumhaill club schedule, that it can’t go ahead.

I would think that there are a lot of supporters who go to Finn Park, who also go to watch GAA, so having a temporary arrangement for a short period to allow Harps to use MacCumhaill Park can only be good for the relationship between both sports.

Finally, this week, my condolences to the family of Shaun and the Patton family, Letterkenny on the sudden death of Shaun’s father, Paul at such a young age. May he rest in peace.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell