Rebel legend Juliet Murphy has no doubt the glory days will return for Cork

The Donoughmore icon says patience is required.

Sat, 10 Jan, 2026 - 08:24

Daire Walsh

On November 15 of last year, Cork football legend Juliet Murphy found herself at The Bonnington Dublin Hotel for a very special occasion.

Twelve years on from bringing the curtain down on a stellar inter-county career, the Donoughmore stalwart was back at the LGFA All-Stars banquet to collect a Hall of Fame award from the association. Given she amassed six All-Stars, eight TG4 All-Ireland senior titles and a TG4 Players' Player of the Year - amongst other accolades - during her time in the red of Cork, Murphy was a more than worthy recipient of this honour.

Yet despite being a regular presence down through the years, her family normally remained home in the Rebel County while she travelled up to Dublin for All-Star banquets. 2025 was a little different, however, as Murphy was joined by relatives from far and wide for her induction to the LGFA’s Hall of Fame.

“To my surprise, my family hadn’t been up there before. One of my brothers had been before, but the other two hadn’t. They were enjoying the night. They were saying ‘why didn’t we come to one of these beforehand?’. I was laughing, I was like ‘I don’t know!’ I suppose I never asked them. I don’t know why they never came, I don’t know what it was,” Murphy said.

“It was a lovely night that way because as you get older, spending time with your family. Not to say that you don’t value it when you’re younger, but you don’t appreciate it as much when you’re younger. To be fortunate enough to have both my parents healthy and alive, and my three brothers and my sister there and my partner Brian, it was lovely from that point of view.

“Just to have family there together and then my cousin from America flew in. Surprised us from America to fly in for the night. That set us off on another sphere altogether, because he joined us for the night and stayed with us for the week in Cork then after the All-Stars.”

A first-time winner in 2005 (the same year she captained Cork to a maiden Brendan Martin Cup success), Murphy claimed her sixth and final All-Star award in 2013. She had originally announced her inter-county retirement in June of the latter year, only to subsequently return to the fold and register two points as Cork defeated Monaghan 1-10 to 1-9 in an All-Ireland SFC showpiece at Croke Park on September 29.

Her comeback appearance had come as a substitute in a narrow second round victory over Armagh at St Brendan’s Park, Birr in the previous month. Although she admits to expressing some doubts in the wake of this game, it proved to be the perfect send-off in the end for Murphy.

“I came on in the second half of that game and we almost lost it. I remember being on the couch at home saying ‘what have I done, I’ve made a mistake coming back!’ Because at the time we were doing well up to half-time and be it by coincidence or by my involvement, our performance deteriorated in the second half.

“We just about scraped by, by a point, against Armagh that day. You have moments when you’re playing in your career that you have those doubts and I certainly had them in 2013. Saying ‘perhaps I’ve made the wrong decision’. Just to go on in 2013 and win that All-Ireland was fantastic. It was brilliant.”

Interestingly, the aforementioned All-Stars banquet at The Bonnington Dublin Hotel saw Murphy picking up her second Hall of Fame award in the space of a month. On October 24, 2025, she was the Ladies Football Hall of Fame recipient at the Gaelic Writers Association Awards night in the Clayton Hotel, Ballsbridge on Dublin’s south side.

This was another big honour for Murphy and she was thrilled to be joined at this ceremony by another Cork icon in the form of Larry Tompkins – the Gaelic Football Hall of Fame winner on the evening.

“I was obviously taken aback and delighted again to receive that award. It was a night of chat and reminiscence. Larry had always been a great supporter of Cork ladies through his support for us after All-Irelands with his pub and so on. Also had such a genuine interest in the women’s game, which was fantastic.

“He was a role model to us growing up and I know himself and Eamonn [Ryan, the late former Cork ladies manager] were very good pals. It was lovely to be there with Larry and to be acknowledged like that amongst the sports writers and journalists in the country.”

Cork initially remained at the top table in the years that followed Murphy’s retirement in 2013 as they beat Dublin in three consecutive All-Ireland deciders. However, their 1-7 to 1-6 triumph against the Jackies in 2016 is their most recent final victory and the Leesiders haven't competed in an All-Ireland senior showpiece since losing to Dublin in 2020.

Juliet Murphy, Cork. in full flow against Monaghan in 2011. Picture: Pat Murphy / Sportsfile

Their Metropolitan counterparts have gone on to become one of the more dominant sides in the game and recorded a quarter-final success over Cork in 2025 on their way to winning the Brendan Martin Cup for the sixth time in nine seasons.

Even though the Leesiders find themselves in a difficult position at the moment, Murphy believes it is important to show patience as the current crop of county stars attempt to climb back up the ladder. After all, Murphy and others had played for several years before finally reaching the promised land in 2005.

“It’s just a matter of being patient and focusing on the areas of development with underage and trying to bring that through. Keeping our standards high within our senior team and trying to bring that talent through to senior level and nurturing that talent. Making sure there’s not burnout,” Murphy added.

“Every county does go through a transitional phase, particularly given the amount of success that Cork has had. Our expectations are always going to be high. Prior to 2005, we didn’t have expectations of Cork ladies football at a senior level. We now have that. That’s not a bad thing, but we need to be patient.”