Cork County Board secretary Frank Murphy is one of the most feared and respected figures in GAA. But now he has been challenged by the Cork players, who have gone on strike for better conditions. Ian O'Riordan on the man who likes to play it by the rulebook
One of the most noted unwritten rules in the GAA is that you don't argue with Frank Murphy. You will lose. Quite simply there is no finer authority on any issue related to the GAA. With that sort of reputation it's not surprising that he has become one of the most respected, feared and loathed figures in GAA officialdom. It's no surprise either that Murphy can usually be found at the centre of any controversy to hit GAA matters in Cork.
The respect is based on his knowledge of the GAA rulebook. In 1973, Murphy was appointed the full-time, paid secretary of the Cork County Board and since then he has dissected and assimilated every possible take on the GAA rules, helped by the fact that he had a role in framing a lot of them.
He is also feared as one of the most capable and effortlessly dominating administrators in GAA history. No one has single-handedly done more for GAA in any one county, on and off the field, and that Cork's financial status is now at the level most other counties can only dream of can be put chiefly down to his tireless enthusiasm and dedication over the last 30 years.
But there has been a price. His ability to interpret the rulebook to benefit Cork has often been loathed outside of the county. And Cork players and managers, particularly in hurling, have for several years now resented his intrusion into matters on the field, and most of all his unyielding need to influence team selection.
Now Murphy has found himself at the centre of the biggest controversy not just in the history of Cork GAA, but one which has ramifications all over the country. As things currently stand Cork has no senior hurling or football team, no senior hurling manager, and no idea when the whole crisis will end.
It was last Friday week when the entire Cork senior hurling panel announced they wouldn't be playing for the county again until there were improvements in such basic matters as food and transport, but also general respect from the County Board.
On Wednesday night the entire Cork senior football panel joined the strike action for similar reasons. All such matters end up on Murphy's desk and from early next week he must attempt to find a resolution.
In the past, Murphy would have relished such a challenge. He might have taken the players aside, had a quiet word in their ear, and calmly got them back down to business. He might have told the managers to get the players back in line. Or he might have found some rule that stated GAA players are not allowed to strike and demanded they get back on the training field.
This challenge has required a different sort of response. When the players finally came into his office to confront his controversial role in the county his more trusted "go on the attack" response failed. The players merely highlighted his negative influence on the county's hurling fortunes, dug their trenches, and walked out more determined than ever to resort to strike action. "We were sick of meetings," said one player. "Fellas wanted action. Fellas wanted to go bald-headed for it."
For all his wondrous knowledge of GAA matters, Murphy, who is now in his late 50s, has been slow to change with the times. Like many GAA officials he comes from the old stock, but many of those same officials have managed to at least carry one foot into the new century. For years now Murphy has stood still.
Part of that comes from his roots with Blackrock hurling club, which was founded in 1883 and is officially the oldest club in Cork. Blackrock is also the most successful club in Cork hurling history, winning 32 senior county titles. And the attitude in the club has always been that players should be proud simply to be wearing the Cork hurling jersey. That it was an honour in itself, even in today's modern game.
Just a few years ago the players used still get their post-training meal at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork's GAA ground, which was described as steak and chips with a diseased sauce. Nobody dared to complain too much about it.
Murphy has also been slow in accepting the lifestyle changes of the modern GAA player. He himself never married, living with his sister in Ballinlough, and rarely moves outside of GAA circles (beyond his interest in horse racing).
He doesn't drink and rarely socialises with friends or comrades outside his work with the Cork County Board.
"I would regard Frank as a good friend, and have known him for years," commented one GAA colleague this week. "But it was only when I thought about him this week that I realised how little I knew about the man."
His life outside of the GAA has always been notoriously private. Originally a secondary school teacher of geography and English at O'Sullivans Quay in Cork, he also sold school encyclopaedias for a brief period before moving into GAA administration. His greatest experience on the playing field was as a hurling referee, where he also earned great respect and was referee for the 1971 All- Ireland final between Tipperary and Kilkenny.
During most of his time with the Cork County Board he has successfully managed to hold down a dual role of secretary and team selector. He's been involved as a selector with 16 All-Ireland winning teams from minor through to under-21 and senior level, as well as three National League titles and 25 Munster titles. That record itself few other GAA men could rival.
This dual role, however, has gradually lost the support of the Cork players. In the past week several of them spoke about critical comments he has been known to make about them, and also his consistent interference with managerial decisions.
Though he has already backed down from his dual role for the moment, he may not meet the other player demands so easily. It's long been said that a bird wouldn't land on the pitch at Páirc Uí Chaoimh without Murphy's permission, and for him to concede to the entire list of player demands is difficult to envisage.
In the past he has also had problems backing away from any matter with his name on it. In the last few years there have been two high-profile examples of his ability to stand by what he believes in, much to the dismay of GAA onlookers outside of Cork.
This summer saw the Cork footballers facing certain forfeiture of the Munster title for using an illegal number of substitutes (six, rather than the allowed five) in the course of the game with Tipperary. Murphy convinced the Munster Council that no such rule existed to penalise Cork for what they'd done, even though they admitted they'd done wrong. It was the most obscure flaw in any GAA rule and only Murphy could find it.
In the All-Ireland minor semi-final against Derry in 2000 one Cork player received two yellow cards but the referee erroneously left him on the field. Derry complained vigorously, but Murphy once again argued the rules in Cork's favour - suggesting that the first yellow card was in error.
"Your job now is to train for the All-Ireland final," he told the Cork minors after that game. "Don't speak a syllable about this to anyone, just leave the rest up to me."
Cork went on to win the All-Ireland title.
Anyone with an interest in the GAA now eagerly awaits the outcome of the Cork strike, and whether Murphy, who in the past has proven himself to be the highest calibre GAA official by a comfortable distance, may finally have met his match.