Inside the life of Michael Murphy as Donegal legend looks to win Sam Maguire
He had stepped away from inter-county football at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
It fell to returning boss Jim McGuinness to persuade him to dust off his boots and rejoin the squad once more.
During his break from playing GAA, he worked as a pundit and also wed his long-term partner, Annie Keeney.
Michael got down on one knee and popped in the question in a romantic proposal on Christmas Day back in 2021 after they first met in 2016. The happy couple then tied the knot in a destination wedding two years later.
They said "I do" in Florence, Italy, at the end of 2023. Following their big day, Annie shared a fabulous snap of them walking hand in hand together in front of the Piazza del Duomo.
Read more: Donegal GAA star Ryan McHugh marries long-time girlfriend Bridget Molloy in Christmas wedding
Read more: Donegal star Shane O'Donnell's day job, age and inside his famous sporting family
Michael also shared a look inside their wedding on his Instagram account. Now that they are married they are focused on building their forever home in the hills of Donegal.
Michael previously said that Annie is big supporter of his, but they also lead separate lives away from Gaelic football which is key to making their romance work.
The GAA star told RSVP Live: "She follows the games but she wouldn't be a mad Donegal supporter because she has her own interest and friends. She obviously does come along to the games though to support the team and support the lads."
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The Irish Sun
15 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside Gavin White's life from stunning fiancee to job after MOTM display inspired Kerry to All-Ireland glory
GAVIN White gave the epitome of a captain's display as Kerry outclassed Donegal on All-Ireland final Sunday. The Kingdom skipper was duly named Man of the Match after a barnstorming performance where he set the tone from the opening throw-in 4 Kerry triumphed by 1-26 to 0-19 over the Ulster champions 4 He conducted an interview from their team banquet on Sunday night Credit: @TheSundayGame 4 He's been in a relationship with Tara Casey for several years 4 Tara proudly watching on as he went up to collect his POTM gong last night Credit: @TheSundayGame Upon receiving his individual award from GAA president Jarlath Burns at their team banquet on Sunday night, he conducted an interview with In it, the 28-year-old tried to sum up their journey across the 2025 inter-county campaign despite admitting to still being "a bit lost for words." Here, SunSport chronicles his daily life away from the Gaelic football pitch: FIANCEE AND JOB It's been a big 12 months for him as he only got engaged to his long-term partner Tara last year while holidaying in Dubai. Read More On GAA However, even when going on a trip abroad somewhere, Kerry football is still at the forefront for the Dr Crokes clubman as he still fit in time to help out a local club by dropping in as a guest trainer. The Middle Eastern GAA club posted at the time: "Thanks to Kerry Senior Footballer Gavin White @gavwhite97 and his new fiancée Tara Casey @tara_casey97 who visited men's training this morning. "Gavin put the lads through their paces ahead of MEL R2 fixtures in Bahrain next weekend. Congrats to Gavin and Tara on their engagement in Dubai this week!" The flying half-back works as a teacher in Killarney's St Brendan's College. It just so happens that Most read in GAA Football In the build-up to Sunday's showpiece, White talked about how he and his megastar teammate are revelling in passing on their knowledge to the next generation of Kerry footballers. He Cork hurlers catch strays during Jack O'Connor's triumphant RTE interview after Kerry outclass Donegal "It's a different angle that you're looking at and different age groups obviously. It's very enjoyable. "I suppose I was with the senior team there with the Hogan Cup in 2022 and that year I was injured for a good chunk of it, so that allowed me to put a bit more time into the Sem." CAPTAIN'S TONE Throughout his MOTM interview it was noticeable how he constantly side-stepped individual kudos in favour of emphasizing what a team achievement this year's success was. Asked if Sunday was the best game he'd ever had in a Kerry jersey, he instead deflected: "Look, you go out there and try and perform as best you can. "But there's plenty of lads here that played exceptionally well today. "Look at Paudie Clifford having 76 possessions across the game, that's absolutely unbelievable. "But look, it was a team performance and our only objective this morning was to bring Sam Maguire back to the Kingdom. "So we're absolutely thrilled with that."
The 42
20 minutes ago
- The 42
A day of days for Kerry as they complete the Ulster clean sweep
YOU CAN SAY these things now, and I have the What's App receipts if you'd like to check up, but after the semi-finals weekend, I messaged around a dozen people to tell them that, 'Remember this in a fortnight's time – Kerry will have walloped Donegal.' It was part hop-balling and a bit of craic to provoke some chat. But I would be selling myself short by saying I didn't think that Kerry were going to lift their 39th Sam Maguire. Forgive me for my lap of honour here. Or don't. It matters little to me anyway, but Ulster is well stocked with journalists and pundits and pretty much all of them went for a Donegal win. And I can back it up by directing you to the GAA Weekly podcast last week when Fintan O'Toole and myself both predicted a Kerry win. So there you have it; Declan Bogue, the Punter's Friend. Come all ye working men and women and invest your meagre wages. The logic I used was based on the fact that Kerry are forever the most ruthless cut-throats in Gaelic football, bar none. And how they would have loved the Godding-Up of Donegal over the last number of weeks. Gaelic Games is the classic example of recency-bias and Donegal's win over Meath in the semi-final prompted many to lose their sense of reason. Essentially, once Oisín Gallen potted his goal early in the second half, Meath packed away their season. Even you and I could have looked sensational playing in that last twenty minutes. Well, maybe you anyway. Meanwhile, Jack was poisoning all the black dogs of Ulster that had followed him around in campaigns past. First Armagh, then Tyrone. They might have fallen to Meath in Tullamore, but a Kerry team arriving into Croke Park, brimming with spite is a loaded gun. You see, Jack's always had this thing with Nordie teams. See a man like me can use those terms. Flash, Nouveau Riche and full of it, he said, while mentioning he went to visit a prominent Ulster coach to pick his brains about defensive systems and so on. Advertisement And somehow, he got the name that Ulster sides spooked him. They didn't. Apart from the 2005 final against Tyrone, his record in that record was strong. Beating Armagh, then Tyrone and now Donegal was the exact way he would have wanted it. And that it was against Jim McGuinness would have satisfied Kerry most. Jack O'Connor. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO In McGuinness, Donegal have a supreme motivator and a leader that anyone who plays under him, adores. But he is not above questioning when it comes to the tactics selected. Cast your mind back to the 2014 All-Ireland final. In the last few plays, Kerry had possession. Donegal needed to get the ball back. Instead, they stayed in a defensive shell, waiting for Kerry to launch an attack so they could force a turnover. Kerry weren't fools. Instead they held the ball and recycled it around their most talented ballers, eating up the clock. The System, as it was called then, ate itself whole. The thing is that the exact same thing happened here. The end of the first half was almost comical as Paudie Clifford, more than anyone, held onto the ball. He could have had a picnic in possession, and yet there were no challenges going in. Down on the sideline, McGuinness got close to where Brendan McCole and David Clifford were hanging out. Immediately, McCole had his hands on David Clifford. Essentially, Donegal decided the game would stop by not engaging. And once the hooter went, Paudie Clifford decided the game was back on again. In quick order, David Clifford booted the two-pointer of Jim Gavin's dreams. 'You've got your plans and you've got your processes and you've got all the things that you're working on all year. Where we got rattled was in possession ourselves. We gave the ball away at times today where it's very uncharacteristic. Against Kerry, you can't do that. They keep the ball very well,' said McGuinness. To which you can only ask, why did you leave the best pound for pound footballer in the country in Paudie Clifford unmarked throughout the entire game? There's a rumour going round right through that claims Paudie touched the ball 76 times. I checked it out by asking some colleagues and it appears it's Kosher. What the hell were Donegal thinking? 'Paudie Clifford is almost pressure-resistant. It's very, very difficult to get heat on him. He's physically strong, controls the game, protects the ball very well and obviously plays very well with his brother,' said McGuinness. It was a day of slightly odd behaviours from Donegal. They had to be asked twice to join the parade while they conducted a mini priming session in the middle of the pitch. They broke early from the parade then. And they did their usual thing of keeping the opposition waiting at half-time. It reminded one of Armagh in 2003, which felt at the time like Death By Huddles. It took nine minutes for David Clifford to touch leather in this game. Before that, he and Brendan McCole could have been wearing the same shorts. His first score was a spectacular two-pointer. Three minutes later he had another one. Kerry emerged from the first quarter, blinking into a 0-13 to 0-4 lead. Gavin White had been superb. Their defence was on top and Donegal's handling deserted them. Kerry's greater ambition carried the day. They had nine digs at two-pointers in the first half, with four flying between the posts. Donegal had none. By the time they did try a few, the options were questionable. Caolan McGonigle attempted one that was blocked down by Joe O'Connor and gave Kerry oxygen. They did suffer bad luck in losing a cast-iron two-point threat in Ciaran Thompson to an early injury. And further misfortune with the departure of Ryan McHugh after Gavin White steamed into him at the start of the second half. After twenty minutes, Michael Murphy went back into his own half. Throughout the game, he never got a sight of a two-point attempt but across the ground, he simply does not match Jason Foley for pace anymore. Michael Murphy. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO The greatest footballer Donegal ever produced had a remarkable season after two years away. Truly remarkable. Related Reads 'I was inside here a month ago and there steam coming out of my ears' - Jack O'Connor How Joe O'Connor put injury hell behind him and played his way into Footballer of the Year contention Kerry name unchanged side for All-Ireland final as Diarmuid O'Connor makes squad He is in a cohort of players that you wouldn't be surprised to see leave over the winter. This was a team that looked at the end of a season that began in Abu Dhabi and had more hotel residentials than Judith Chalmers. But, to use the device the GAA President is fond of to bring his speech to conclusion; the day belonged to Kerry. The day belonged to the side that had the sharper skills, the better shooters, the innate understanding of what every play meant and how to cook it up themselves. This was one year that football didn't need a big final to redeem itself after the manure of earlier rounds. And it didn't get it either. But football, and Kerry football, is in a good place right now. * Postscript: Naturally, we will gloss over the predictions that both Kilkenny and then Cork were going to end Tipperary's hurling summer. Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Colm Boyle column: Why Jack O'Connor will go down in history as 1 of the greats
This All-Ireland final seemed like both the end of an era and the start of one. If, as seems likely by his post-match comments, Jack O'Connor resigns, then we will be saying goodbye to one of the greatest managers in the history of Gaelic football. Until yesterday, you may also have described O'Connor as one of the sport's most underestimated coaches, especially in his own county. Read more: All-Ireland final TV viewers have same complaint during Kerry v Donegal Read more: Surprising voice at Croke Park as Kerry legends honoured ahead of All-Ireland final Absurd as that sounds, considering he had won four All-Ireland titles, his previous achievements seemed to be accompanied by an asterisk. Yes, he had won all those All-Irelands, but that is what Kerry fans expect. If anything, there was possibly more of a focus on the three finals he lost, especially the 2005 defeat to Tyrone, than the four he had won. Well, that perception has most certainly changed now after yesterday's win, not just the manner of it, but also the opposition. After losing to Meath in the round-robin section, Kerry appeared to be going nowhere. David Clifford aside, none of their players appeared to be in form and the team were struggling to click. That certainly changed. First came Cavan, then Armagh, next Tyrone and yesterday Donegal, four Ulster teams defeated by an aggregate of 33 points. That's astonishing and for O'Connor, it is special. For years, Kerry have been perceived as having an easy route to an All-Ireland, because of their provincial set-up. Kerry manager Jack O'Connor (Image: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo) No one can say that now because they have just claimed a de-facto Ulster championship as well as everything else they have won this season: the League, the Munster championship, the All-Ireland. Not just that, but for Jack, this fifth All-Ireland confirms his position as the third most successful manager in Gaelic football history, behind Mick O'Dwyer (who won eight championships) and Jim Gavin (six). No one can ever question his credentials again. To win five All-Irelands is astonishing but to do it across a 21-year timespan is even more impressive, as the game is so radically different now than it was in 2004, when he won his first All-Ireland. Players too have changed dramatically in terms of their outlook and expectations and one thing that has really impressed me about Jack is his willingness to get outside coaches to freshen up his backroom team. Persuading Cian O'Neill to come in as his No2 was a masterstroke. I worked under Cian in 2012 when James Horan brought him into the Mayo set-up and saw first hand how organised, innovative and tactically intelligent he was. That year he was with us, he gave us valuable insight into opposing teams as we made our way to an All-Ireland final. You could see his fingerprints all across Kerry's win yesterday, especially the way Kerry decoded Donegal's zonal defence. All season that system has worked perfectly for Donegal. But the biggest danger of zonal marking is that no one is ever held responsible which allows players to drift into scoring areas unmarked. We saw that repeatedly when Gavin White surged forward, when Sean O'Brien got his easy score, when Kerry were able to get two-point shots off. Yet while Cian O'Neill should be credited for devising a tactical plan which worked so efficiently, equal credit should go to O'Connor for having the self-confidence to appoint someone with O'Neill's experience. A lesser manager may have perceived O'Neill as a threat or worried that his assistant would receive all the credit if things went right but be free from criticism if it went wrong. Credit O'Connor then for having the self-awareness to add to his backroom team with a different style of coach. That's how you bridge eras from 2004 and 2025. Of course it helps too to have exceptional players. And all of Kerry's main men turned up yesterday, none more so than Gavin White who was my man of the match. He set the tone right from the start, setting up the first score of the game, then getting Kerry's second and third points of the day. That put them on their way. Then came the second half; again he made a key involvement from the throw-in and Kerry again got a score from it. Later, in a period when Donegal chipped away at Kerry's lead, reducing it from nine points to four with a concerted 15-minute period of good play, White showed his leadership qualities to seize possession and carry the ball 40 yards before getting a superb point. That, once more, set the tone as Donegal's comeback had stalled. Indeed, they would score only one more point in the match. Kerry's anxious period was over. They can thank White for that. Kerry's Gavin White lifts the Sam Maguire (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) Yet the plaudits must be shared. Paudie Clifford was outstanding and while people may focus on the stats, the 76 possessions, the thing we should really concentrate on is the quality of his play. It was strange that Jim McGuinness left him as the free man; stranger that he didn't decide to change this initial policy. Because Clifford destroyed Donegal with the precision of his passing and the intelligence of his decision-making. And he had plenty of company. Right through this Kerry side, their leaders turned up, Joe O'Connor outstanding yet again. And that is why it feels like the start of an era as well as the end of one. Yes, O'Connor may decide to retire and walk away. But Kerry will be staying for quite some time. Considering how well they played yesterday they will take some beating. **** I started watching Gaelic football in 1996. And there have been some great players come along. But David Clifford is the best I have ever seen. All year Brendan McCole has marked players superbly well. And Clifford scored 0-9 against him. That's outstanding. Adding yesterday's performance to the other displays he has given this summer, he is my player of the year. *** When Michael Murphy stepped out of retirement, it seemed as though he would be a 20-minute man. Instead he has had an excellent championship. But the big question is whether he will be persuaded to come back for another season. He turns 36 soon and the miles on the clock have added up over the years. Remember it was 2007 when he made his inter-county debut. Finnbarr Roarty was a one-year-old in 2007. Murphy defied time for most of this year but yesterday he looked fatigued in the closing minutes which suggests that next year he will be an impact sub - should he decide to come back. Will he stay or go? That will be a hard question to answer. Does he deserve an All-Star? That is an easier answer. Yes. Absolutely he does.
