Murphy's exit the end of an era for Cork | Padraig Martin

I remember 1999 well. Or more accurately, I remember the inter-county season of that year well. I was only eleven at the time, but for me that year will always stand out. The Cork senior hurling and football panels both reached All-Ireland finals; and talk of a perspective double was at fever pitch on Leeside once both teams had emerged victorious from their respective Munster Championship campaigns. Together with my father, younger brother, my cousin and my uncle I clocked some serious mileage attending every game, travelling to Semple Stadium and Croke Park several times – and all this before the new Cork-Dublin motorway!The footballers failed to capture Sam that year, but had managed to procure the National Football League and Munster Championship. The League victory was sweet. Cork defeated Dublin that day in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in front of a huge home crowd. The triumph was Nicholas Murphy’s first taste of inter-county silverware, having endured fruitless campaigns with the Cork minor and under-21 teams in previous years.The victory was the first time I had witnessed a Cork team capture some silverware in person and it was quite a surreal experience. Those players were heroes to my friends and I and 1999 was truly a magical year for all of us, especially to those of us who were fortunate enough to have attended the matches. Having won a League and Munster Championship in only his third season, Murphy then endured many unproductive years in the red jersey.There was provincial success in 2002 and 2006, but on each of these occasions Kerry defeated Cork in Croke Park when it really mattered. The defeats to Kerry in two finals and several All-Ireland semi-finals were some of Murphy’s worst days in a Cork jersey. Aside from obvious reasons, Murphy didn’t perform in most encounters with the old enemy as Darragh Ó Sé frequently bullied and out-muscled him. One would often question why the Cork management continually assigned Murphy the role of marking Ó Sé, especially when Michael Cussen and Pearse O’Neill impressed when they marked him for short stints in the Munster Championship.His greatest achievement undoubtedly came in 2010 when Cork captured their first All-Ireland title since the double in 1990. It was no more than the likes of Murphy, Graham Canty, Noel O’Leary and similarly great servants deserved. Murphy himself only played a bit part role that year, however his cameo performance in the final against Down was majestic.Though he wasn’t the best technical footballer, he was arguably the greatest fielder of a football the sport has ever seen.When he announced his retirement recently most people’s initial thoughts were that he was unlucky to have only captured one All-Ireland medal. The general consensus is that, for a player whose career spanned from 1997 to 2012, Murphy underachieved. At the top level this is probably true, and for this we need look no further than the poor team selections of Larry Tompkins and disastrous tactics (or lack thereof) employed by Conor Counihan in important contests.Despite a poor return of just one winner’s medal in four All-Ireland finals, Murphy is the owner of a Cork record for winning four National League Division 1 medals and one Division 2 medal. Six Munster Championships, an All-Star award in 2006 and a notable intermediate All-Ireland hurling championship in 2004 complete his inter-county hall. At club level he won County intermediate medals in hurling (2008) and football (2009) with Carrigaline. He also captained Munster to an inter-provincial title in 2008 and represented Ireland in International Rules Football against Australia.Upon his retirement tributes flew in from his peers painting a picture of a humble, hardworking and all-round decent man. Daniel Goulding described him as “a model of commitment, drive and skill.” He was unlucky not to have captured more Celtic crosses, but he departs the fray as one of the most decorated Cork footballers in history. Nicholas; thanks for the memories.