At club level he played with Templederry Kenyons and was also a member of the Tipperary senior hurling team.
Murphy first played juvenile and underage hurling with the Templederry Kenyons club before joining the club's top adult team.
[citation needed] He had some divisional success, winning a North Tipperary Intermediate Championship title.
[1] He progressed onto the Tipperary under-21 team and won back-to-back All-Ireland Under-21 Championship titles from three consecutive finals appearances between 1978 and 1980.
[2] Murphy subsequently made a number of league and championship appearances with the Tipperary senior hurling team and was part of the National Hurling League-winning side in 1979.