Paddy Murphy
Paddy Murphy, born and reared in the blue and navy of Barryroe, is a club secretary apart, from thousands of many more G.A.A. club secretaries. With 51 years of unbroken service, since he first became secretary in 1965, at just 17 years old, Paddy must be in contention for the title of The Longest Serving G.A.A. club secretary in the history of gaelic games. The extremely popular Barryroe official has overseen the development of our club from playing matches in a rented field in the 1960s, to the acquisition by the club of a truly magnificent modern complex.
In 1965, without a pitch of our own, Paddy Murphy and his colleagues, took giant steps to secure a permanent home for their beloved Barryroe club. As the club administrator, the tasks of raising the capital for the purchase of land in 1973, became a formidable project that required great enthusiasm from all involved. The 25 year old secretary in 1973, is credited by the local community as a source of great inspiration at that time, and the current complex, in all its splendour, will live as a testimony to Paddy Murphy’s commitment to his native parish of Barryroe. As a teenager, playing hurling and football every week, was a way of life for Paddy and in 1966, when Barryroe had no under age teams, Paddy joined forces with the Newcestown minor gaels and wore the red and yellow of the famed club, along with two more Barryroe colleagues. And for good measure he was also the Barryroe club secretary at the same time.
The highs and lows of Paddy’s tenure were many, but the first minor hurling club success of 1968, when Barryroe won the ‘B’ Carbery Championship, is a proud recollection. Several more titles came to the club over the intervening decades and the pinnacle achievement for the renowned secretary, was the winning of the Cork Junior ‘A’ County Hurling Championship in 2007. The formation of a camogie division was also proposed by Paddy and the fruits of his endeavours have been harvested many times since foundation. The Barryroe clubhouse now embraces a tennis court, a playground, a fully equipped kitchen and a floodlight system, only equalled by Pairc Ui Rinn, Cork. The club territory embraces the villages of Barryroe, Butlerstown, Courtmacsherry and Lislevane, and amalgamating all four domains under the unified flag of the Barryroe parish, symbolises a spirit of unity amongst the G.A.A. community that has stood the test of time.
Jimmy Barry Murphy marking Paddy's 50 year milestone at The Lifeboat Inn, Courtmacsherry on the 20th February 2016.