Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Murphy first played competitive hurling whilst at school in Thurles CBS. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of fifteen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor team before later joining the junior side. He made his senior debut in the 1960 Oireachtas Tournament. Murphy went on to enjoy a brief inter-county career with Tipperary, and won one All-Ireland medal, one Munster medal and one National Hurling League medal. He captained the team to the All-Ireland title in 1964.