Kevin Murray departs Cork football management setup

The Barrs coach was with John Cleary's Rebels for a year. 

Kevin Murray speaking at The GAA Games Development Conference in Croke Park. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Kevin Murray has departed the Cork football management team, according to The Echo.

In what is a surprising development, the 1999 All-Ireland hurling winner leaves John Cleary’s setup a year after his appointment — a move widely viewed at the time as a coup for the Rebels.

His departure is understood to be linked to workload demands, with Murray balancing significant commitments outside the Cork setup, including his coaching role with the St Finbarr’s hurlers.

Football, however, was Murray’s first code. Growing up five miles outside Dunmanway, he helped Dohenys progress to the senior ranks during his playing days. His football education was further shaped by more than a decade spent as the skill and athletic development coach in Billy Morgan’s UCC Sigerson Cup setup, where he worked with many of the county’s emerging players.

Murray had been the first new addition to Cleary’s ticket after the Cork boss was handed a fresh two-year term last August, and his influence across coaching and sports science was notable.

Cork enjoyed a productive 2026 season, securing promotion from the Allianz Division 2 League, reaching the Munster final, and advancing to the All-Ireland quarter-final where they were beaten by five points by eventual champions Mayo.

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