It may not be just at the level of the likes of Teddy McCarthy or Briege Corkery, but at Croke Park on Sunday Kilkenny's Paul Murphy joined a very elite group – an All-Ireland winner in two different codes.
When Murphy retired from Kilkenny hurling duty in January 2021 with a haul of four All-Ireland medals and four All-Stars, a possible return to Croke Park in the black and amber would have been put down to some persuasion tactics from Brian Cody.
However, it was football manager Christy Walsh who got in his ear and after throwing his lot in with the county’s footballer, Murphy played a key role in helping them to the 2022 All-Ireland junior title after a 3-12 to 1-09 win over New York.
Murphy, just like his hurling days, played corner back in the triumph – and he said it was a medal that he would truly cherish despite successes on much higher profile occasions.
"I said to the boys before the game that I was lucky enough to play a junior club All-Ireland with my club [Danesfort] here and I have been lucky to play senior All-Ireland finals with Kilkenny," Murphy told RTÉ Sport.
"What I learned in that time is that it’s not really about how many people are in a stadium, it’s making the journey with a great group of players.
"There’s a cup at stake, this was a brilliant day for Kilkenny football. July, Croke Park, sunny weather before one of the biggest games in the GAA calendar in Kerry and Dublin.
"It’s a great feeling, we really loved today and that doesn’t change if you have a few All-Irelands and played on the big days."
Kilkenny footballers at Croke Park is a rare treat, but the stadium is somewhere Murphy knows very well. He said that he hopes his experience helped in the build-up.
"You're aware you have played and a lot of lads maybe have questions about Croke Park before you come.
"You just have to tell lads that Croke Park is here to be enjoyed, it’s not there to be daunting, looking up to the stands and thinking this yoke is going to collapse in on top of you.
"It's there to be enjoyed and to go out and relish every minute of it because you never know when your last day is going to be.
"I thought my days in Croke Park were finished, a lot of lads here never played it, it would be a pity not to go out and enjoy stepping on the pitch."
The success will no doubt lead to calls for Kilkenny to rejoin the Allianz Football League having last played in the 2012 season.
For Murphy, the road is clear now for proper progression for football in the county.
"I remember watching Breaking Ball years ago in the '90s and there was a man on talking about Kerry hurling and he said he thought it was a pipe dream that Kerry hurling might be somewhat competitive.
"Every week during the year, Kerry were putting in really good performances and they are competitive now. They’re stepping up, they’re trying their best to get up even into Munster and being competitive.
"Kilkenny is a long way back from that but it just shows that the road is there."
