One of 13 children, McGurk first played Gaelic football and hurling at juvenile and underage levels with Lavey.
At inter-county level, McGurk followed his brothers, Hugh Martin, Anthony and Johnny, onto the Derry team and won Ulster U21 titles in both codes in 1986 before spending much of his senior career as a dual player.
He was a member of the extended panel when Derry beat Cork in the 1993 All-Ireland SFC final.
In retirement from playing, McGurk filled a number of coaching and management roles at club and inter-county levels.
[4] He was manager of the Derry senior hurling team for two years and guided them to the 2017 Nicky Rackard Cup title.