Donegal will miss their leader but Murphy will always be a figurehead of the county

He leaves the stage with five Ulster medals and a Celtic Cross from 10 years ago, in a 16-year, 177-game inter-county career that saw him debut as a 17-year-old.

Thu, 17 Nov, 2022 - 07:29

Alan Foley

Although Michael Murphy’s ‘Reeling In The Years’ moment will undoubtedly come from the third minute of the 2012 All-Ireland final against Mayo, his retirement on Wednesday night leaves Donegal with much more than a void of perhaps the greatest player ever to wear the green and gold.

He leaves the stage with five Ulster medals and a Celtic Cross from 10 years ago, in a 16-year, 177-game inter-county career that saw him debut as a 17-year-old. To put that in perspective, the sum total of Donegal’s achievements before he joined the senior ranks was exactly that - five provincial championships and one capturing of Sam Maguire.