Eoin Murphy urged Henry Shefflin to prioritise Kilkenny's future

The four-time All-Ireland winner, who announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on Friday, said new Kilkenny manager Shefflin 'needs to be considering 2027 and beyond'

Eoin Murphy’s exit severs yet another playing link to the last All-Ireland winning Kilkenny team of 2015. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Freshly retired Eoin Murphy has revealed that he told new Kilkenny manager Henry Shefflin it was time to cut him loose and to look to the future.

Goalkeeper Murphy, 36, closed out Kilkenny’s latest inter-county campaign between the sticks and started four of their five Leinster SHC games.

But the four-time All-Ireland winner claimed he wasn't necessarily the number one and reckoned there was an ‘element of luck’ due to Aidan Tallis, who started all but one of Kilkenny’s League games, ‘having an injury’.

Murphy said his own ‘mind was made up' from after their surprise Championship exit at the hands of Dublin in May that it would be his last campaign.

And while it appears that new boss Shefflin wanted the 10-time Leinster SHC winner to stick around, Murphy told KCLR 96FM that he feels it's a long-term project that demands more commitment than he can give.

“I had a couple of conversations with Henry,” said Murphy. “Personally, maybe my mind was made up from earlier in the year after finishing up with Kilkenny. There was an element of luck maybe this year that I regained the number one position with Aidan having an injury and then falling ill throughout the season as well. In reality, I wasn’t necessarily number one this year.

“I made the decision after the Dublin game that that was it. Some of the conversations with Henry, I just touched on it that he needs to be considering the future and building his team for two, three years down the line.

“It’s very hard for me now at my age, having a family at home. It’s very hard to say that you’re going to be committed for the next two, three years.

“So look, after maybe a bit of persuasion and stuff like that, Henry eventually agreed that, yeah, it would be best for me to retire. I went out on my own terms.” 

Asked specifically if Shefflin tried to change his mind, Murphy nodded.

“Yeah, there was that but I gave it from my standpoint that, you know, he needs to be considering that he has a three-year term with the hope, I’m sure, to renew that further on down the line.

“So he’s not building a team for tomorrow or whatever, and obviously he wants to be successful next year, and I have no doubt he will be, but he also needs to be considering 2027 and beyond.

“To be fair, he agreed with me, and the goalkeeping crew that are there at the moment are more than able for it. Aidan was outstanding in some of the games this year so I’ve no doubt that he’ll be mad to take on that mantle.

“So it’s in capable hands. As I said, it wasn’t an easy decision but ultimately I think it was the right one at the right time.” 

Murphy’s exit severs yet another playing link to the last All-Ireland winning Kilkenny team of 2015. Brothers TJ and Richie Reid are the only players from that season still involved.

On his career highlights, Murphy pointed to the 2016 All-Ireland semi-final replay win over Waterford in Thurles, and the 2023 semi-final win over Clare, when he pulled off a spectacular save from Peter Duggan, as memorable occasions, aside from the various final wins he experienced.

“I never once took it for granted, playing with Kilkenny,” maintained Murphy.