Dr Con Murphy: doctor to Cork hurling and football senior teams says he was brought up in the dug out
I work in a single-handed GP practice in Cork city. It's a mixed bag. As I am near the university I tend to get a lot of students and because of my connection with the football and hurling teams I get a lot of sports injuries coming into the surgery.
Outside of that I am the team doctor for the Cork hurling and football teams as well as for the University College Cork football team and the Irish international rules team.
My father Weesh Murphy was a selector and you could say that I was brought up in the dug out and I haven't left it since.
I became the doctor for the football and hurling teams in 1976 and I'm still at it. I don't travel for the winter months for the league but I do for the championship.
Unfortunately, I am busier with the hurling team than the football team. However, there are way less serious injuries in hurling than in football because the physical contact is more serious in hurling.
We had very few injuries of a serious nature this year. In the run-up to the final we did have a number of problems. John Gardiner broke a metacarpal six weeks before the match. We took the cast off after three weeks even though the bone would not have been fully healed and strapped him up well and put him back training. Because of the nature of the game you can't just take the cast off on the day of the match and play at the level required. He was my medical man of the match.
We also lost one of our key subs in a practice match. Jonathan O'Callaghan broke a cheekbone because the helmet he was wearing had a homemade facial protection attachment that was inadequate. This is a big problem at the senior level. Most senior players doctor their helmets and end up with inadequate protection. We also lost a player during the match. Brian Murphy had a migraine and his vision was impaired.
In the old days the doctor did everything now most of the work done by our chartered physiotherapist Declan O'Sullivan and our masseurs Jim McEvoy and Chris O'Donovan.
Some of our players were tested for drugs after the match. Many of the players are fed up with being tested. They have been tested for three out of six matches. Sometimes you can be lucky and it doesn't take long but if it is hot and the players are dehydrated it can take a long time. It took three hours after our match in Killarney this year. I don't think we have a problem with drugs in the GAA but it is no harm to keep it monitored.
I enjoy the work a lot. I have three sons who are all interested so it becomes a family outing. I've been finding it hard to fill in the evenings since the season ended.
Despite the fact that we have just won the All-Ireland final I have to admit that it is 95 per cent disappointment, but I'm a good loser, which would make me a bad manager.
We won this year because we lost last year. There is no substitute for mental preparation. But you also have to point out to the players that there is more to life than winning the All-Ireland. I certainly thought about Cormac McAnallen on the day. Equally players need to learn how to handle victory. I think they are much more sensible now than they used to be.
On the down side I get a lot of pressure from people looking for tickets before matches. Having to talk about the match to everyone when you lose is also difficult. When you work in a surgery there is no getting away from people.