Originally from Cork, Murphy played for his native province of Munster before moving to the English side Leicester Tigers.

While playing with the Christian Brothers team, he won the Munster Schools Senior Cup, beating Rockwell College in the final.

[4] Murphy left Munster at the end of the 2005–06 having made 15 appearances for the senior team, and joined English Premiership side Leicester Tigers.

[5] Murphy made his European debut for the Tigers on 13 January 2007 in the 2006–07 Heineken Cup as a replacement against Cardiff Blues.

[5] In Europe, Murphy started six games for the Tigers and came off the bench in another in the 2007–08 Heineken Cup as his side came second in their pool, but missed out on the knockout rounds.

[9] At European level, Murphy played in all of Connacht's 2009–10 Challenge Cup games as they reached the semi-final, being beaten 19–12 at the Sportsgrounds by Toulon.

[6] In the following season, Murphy played in 21 of Connacht's games under new coach Eric Elwood in the 2010–11 Celtic League, which had been expanded to 12 teams.

Ahead of Connacht's first season in the top tier of European rugby, the team signed another scrum-half, Paul O'Donohoe from Leinster.

[9] In Europe, Murphy played in only one game during the season, coming off the bench in a famous victory over Toulouse in the 2013–14 Heineken Cup.

He was one of a number of high-profile departures that included fellow centurion Gavin Duffy and former Scottish international fly-half Dan Parks.

Murphy progressed quickly through the IRFU's Inter Provincial Appointments System, and in February 2015 was added to the union's National Panel of Referees, officiating in All-Ireland League matches.

[17] Murphy refereed his first international match in February 2016, when he took charge of a European Nations Cup game between Germany and Portugal.