Echo Women in Sport award: Double delight for college camogie and rugby ace Caoimhe Murphy

Kilbree’s Caoimhe Murphy recently won the Purcell Cup All-Ireland final with Mary I. 

The team comprehensively defeated Queens University, Belfast in the semi-final and defeated UL in the final, in a very tight competitive thrilling affair.

Caoimhe played in the forwards in both games, scoring 1-5 and setting up the all-important winning goal in the final for Grainne Delaney.

She hit 1-5 for her side over the two games and also set up the winning goal in their 1-17 to 2-12 victory.

This was the second colleges All-Ireland title Caoimhe had won in a matter of weeks, in two different codes, for which was named the January winner of The Echo Women in Sport Award. Before the Purcell Cup success Caoimhe won an All-Ireland colleges rugby medal with UL.

Yes that is correct, she won the Purcell Cup with Mary I and the rugby title with UL, so defeating the latter in the camogie had its own touch of irony for Caoimhe. Mary I does not have a rugby team so Caoimhe plays on neighbouring UL’s first team, normally playing flanker.

Recently UL won the All-Ireland League final against UCD in another incredibly tight game in Dublin, Caoimhe scored a try on the night to ensure that UL would take home the silverware.

UL are currently unbeaten in the All-Ireland cup competition. The final stages of this competition will take place over the next few weeks.

Caoimhe only started playing rugby in 2023 and was awarded the Adult Player of the Year award by Clonakilty RFC in 2024 in her first season with the club.

So how did she manage to play two different sports with two colleges?

“Basically, there's no rugby team in Mary I, so I have to go over the road to play rugby and I really wanted to play rugby with the university this year,” said Caoimhe.

“So because Mary I don’t have a rugby team we can play with UL as we are part of the same campus as such, so that allows students with play camogie with one and rugby with the other.

“Obviously if you are studying at Mary I who have a camogie team, or indeed any other sport they have a team in, then you must play there and not UL.

“Friends introduced me to rugby. 

I always loved the physical aspect of camogie. I just loved giving a good shoulder or just even running through people or a good tackle and all that.

“So I thought I'd love rugby because of the physical element of the game. I was right, I love the whole physical element of it, like tackling and carrying and all that.

“I played for a year with Clonakilty before I went to college and then said that I would love to play at college level. We played Division 2 with Clon and I was like it'd be unreal if I could play Division One with the college.

“So I did that and thankfully we managed to win the league and hopefully will go on to win a few more cups before the year is over.”

Before Caoimhe played rugby she was an accomplished camogie player.

Over the years Caoimhe has been on the A Cork camogie at U14, U15, U16 and two years at minor level. At minor level she won the A All-Ireland final with Cork in 2022 and was a finalist in 2021. She has played at adult level with the Cork junior squad.

She has also won Minor A Munster camogie medals with Cork in both years at minor level in 2022 and 2021. Along the way Caoimhe has also won county, Munster and All-Ireland camogie medals with Sacred Heart Secondary School at junior and senior level.

With her camogie club, she has won county titles at U12, U14, U18 and junior level.

Caoimhe played with the Carbery senior camogie squad in the senior county championship. She has won county and divisional titles with Clonakilty LGFA.

Caoimhe won a county Sciath na Scol camogie championship with her primary school (Kilmeen NS) and was selected on the primary games hurling/camogie team that played at half-time in the All-Ireland hurling semi-final (Cork v Waterford) in 2017. Only two children from Cork were chosen to play at that match.

COMPOSED

The final at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence was a thriller, particularly the second half when Mary I came from four points down at half-time to level the match. UL scored two goals in the second half, but Mary I kept their composure and battled to the very end.

They now have won the Purcell Cup seven times in total, the last before this year was in 2015 and also hold the honour of being the inaugural winners in 1977.

Commentating on her latest camogie success she said: “I in the first half anyway of the final we weren't going too well.

“So I was like we have to drive it on in. We were four points down at half time, and we're not playing for potential. I knew we would be fierce disappointed if we lost in that way.

“We came out in the second half a completely different team. I think we were very nervous and by then the nerves were settled and all that, and we finally played to our potential.

We really kicked on to win after a massive battle with UL. It was a great feeling and the way we turned it around made it all the more special.

“It was a massive effort by all involved and I was delighted for everybody who had that in over the last few months. Winning an All-Ireland title is extra special but to win two was just beyond my dreams,” concluded Caoimhe.