‘The humility of the man’… that was Michael’s greatest gift - McGrath

His 2012 teammate (37) is the exact same age as the Tír Chonaill icon but still cannot fathom just how the Glenswilly totem was able to once again shred up and not miss a single beat after that shock intercounty return in 2025.

Some pundits might feel missing out on a second All-Ireland title means that retirement u-turn ultimately failed.

But McGrath dismisses that notion and insists Murphy can leave without a single regret.

“People outside the county will look at that kind of stuff, the All-Ireland final loss to Kerry,” he explained.

“But in Donegal, the supporters, the players and the team, will all see that he gave us two wonderful years we never thought we’d get again.

“Some of the individual moments second time around, they were just amazing. The energy he was able to muster, getting up and down, it was just crazy.

“But I’m just as excited to see what’s next for Michael as well. He can have no regrets and he can rest easy now.

“The best stories often don’t get that ‘tied up in a neat ribbon’ ending. But the last two seasons, what it actually stood for, it’s an amazing story in its own right.

“It should be a Netflix documentary, really”.

Ask any of that 2012 alumni and they’ll all say the same thing. The likes of Murphy, Karl Lacey, Mark McHugh and Rory Kavanagh will all tell you that McGrath was the most intense and hardest trainer in the group.

He was just as ferocious in the gym. But he admits even he’s at a loss to even begin to imagine just how Murphy was able to roll back the years and get into the kind of shape he eventually did upon his return.

“I’d love to know. Because your body, all the things you took for granted in your 20s, really starts to behave a different way in your mid to late 30s.

“I wouldn’t even know how or where to start with all that. Mentally, right away, you’d have to prepare yourself.

“After you step away from that, get out of that bubble, you see things a lot differently. Football has to be number one.

Return

“But Michael, like the rest of us, would be so grateful to Jim and what he did for us first time around.

“So it really had to be Jim asking. And I’d say as much as anything, Michael decided to see how it would go.

“But it exceeded all expectations. He got himself into phenomenal shape. Believe me, that didn’t happen by simply turning up in Convoy for pre-season and going with the flow.

“Michael must have put in serious work to get to the level he did. People thought this was going to be an impact role or whatever.

“But he landed back and, in the end, was nominated for ‘Footballer of the Year’ for the first time ever.

“Even last season, when it sort of unravelled, he was still the best player in those games. I honestly don’t know how he did that.

“I’d love to know what his nutrition was like, what his program was and all of that. He might let me in on those secrets now he’s finished up!”

Maybe it was hard work, maybe it was genetics, maybe it was a combination of both because McGrath vividly recalls his first encounter with Murphy, long before dumbbells and squat racks took over.

“I’d have been involved with underage squads right up - blessed to have played with him at U-14, U-16 in the Buncrana Cup and minor.

“Like, at U-14 to see this huge mountain of a lad come in the door… you knew he was something different.

“Then to see him lumping ‘45s off the ground and the ball landing high on the back net, not just dropping over, it was like ‘wow’.

“He was big, he was powerful. But it said something when his actual skills were the things that actually stood out most”.

Still, McGrath says the characteristics he admires most aren’t finite, aren’t grains of sand. And that’s why he envisages Murphy continuing to make a massive contribution to Donegal, albeit in a much different way.

“What stands out most for me now is the humility of the man. His reputation as a great person before you even start looking at the footballer.

“He’s the example to everyone else on how you should carry yourself. We all know what he did for Donegal on the field.

“Off it, he never sprinted down tunnels, never ducked out the back door. He stayed and signed every last autograph, stood for every last photo.

“I’ve kids now and I’m that parent out the back of the stand. And I see just what it means to my children to see him and meet him and the time he takes”.

He adds: “The lovely thing about that U-21 campaign back in 2010 was that we all grew really close, got to know each other’s families at the games as the thing built momentum.

“His parents must be so proud of the person he is, what he stood for and the way he’s conducted himself in the community. And all of that is genuine.

“That’s what kept him so honest on the field also. He gave it absolutely everything when he was on that field”.

Loyalty

The scary thing, with the benefit of hindsight now, is that it really could have ended for Murphy and Donegal as quickly as it had begun.

AFL scouts trailed him the length and breadth of the country and McGrath recalls first-hand how aggressive that pursuit actually was.

“I remember being in the U-21s and going to a senior game, a sort of bonding exercise, to watch them play Kildare. Michael was already a senior at this stage.

“Right in front of us there were these Australian scouts, in the stand, actually filming him and taking notes. So he was very much on their radar at the time.

“I’ve no doubt he got offers. But he knew what he wanted. He wanted to be at home and to make a life for himself here.

“But I’d have had no complaints had he headed off. It’s a serious opportunity and I wish young Finnbarr Roarty all the best out there.

“But Michael ended up achieving all that he ever wanted by staying about”.

It didn’t receive as much traction at the time but Dublin outfit Parnells were on a real talent recruitment drive and Murphy was bang in the middle of those crosshairs.

But McGrath says if one thing eclipsed his love for Donegal, then it was his fondness for home.

“And that showed everything starts and ends with Glenswilly for him. Glenswilly’s rise through the ranks to a first-ever senior championship and a few more after that; I’ve no doubt he’s just as proud of all of that as anything he accomplished with Donegal.

“And he’s right involved with the underage structures there now too. So it’s really just a new chapter on what’s still a really big book.

“He’s a very intelligent person and thinks deeply about the game a lot, in terms of coaching and setting up.

“He was involved in the Football Review Committee (FRC) and I’ve no doubt we’re only really at the midpoint here with him.

“At some stage he’ll be involved with Donegal and will be a permanent fixture in Convoy and that is so exciting in a different sort of way”.