Denis Murphy (born 1939) is an Irish former hurler who played as a left corner-back at senior level for the Cork county team.
Born in Donoughmore, County Cork, Murphy first played competitive hurling during his schooling at St Colman's College.
As a member of the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, Murphy won two Railway Cup medals.
In 1959 he was at left corner-back as UCC faced arch rivals University College Dublin in the final of the Fitzgibbon Cup.
[3] After losing the championship decider to Glen Rovers in 1964, "the Barr's" were back for a second successive final the following year.
University College Cork provided the opposition, however, a youthful St. Finbarr's team powered to a 6–8 to 2–6 victory.
Murphy first played for Cork as a member of the junior hurling team on 5 May 1959 in a 5–8 to 2–4 Munster quarter-final defeat of Clare.
He made his senior championship debut on 31 July 1960 when he came on as a substitute in Cork's 4–13 to 4–11 Munster final defeat by Tipperary.
A 3–12 to 1–14 defeat of Wexford in the decider gave Murphy, who was now captain of the team, a National Hurling League medal.
Once again this victory paved the way for an All-Ireland showdown with Kilkenny on 7 September 1969, however, the team suffered a setback in the week leading up to the game when midfielder Justin McCarthy broke his leg in a motorcycle accident.
[5][6] The Leesiders got into their stride following an early goal by Charlie McCarthy and led by six points coming up to half time when Kilkenny raised a green flag themselves.
In spite of this Cork led at the interval and looked a good bet for the victory, particularly after Kilkenny forward Pat Delaney left the field on a stretcher.
It was a successful year as Cork secured a second consecutive Munster crown following a 3–15 to 4–5 defeat of Limerick.
Wexford had a two-point lead with ten minutes to go, however, three points from Jimmy Barry-Murphy, two from Pat Moylan and a kicked effort from Ray Cummins gave Cork a 2–21 to 4–11 victory.
In 1978 Murphy was still a key member of the selection team as Cork secured a fourth successive Munster title following a 0–13 to 0–11 defeat of Clare in a dour provincial decider.
Cork were never really troubled over the course of the seventy minutes and a Jimmy Barry-Murphy goal helped the team to a 1–15 to 2–8 victory over their age-old rivals.