Murphy, Seán Óg (‘Jackie’) (1892–1956), hurler, was born 31 October 1892 at Windmill Road, Cork city, son of James Murphy, carrier, and Bridget Murphy (née Walsh). Originally named John Francis Murphy, he became known as ‘Seán Óg’ at an early age. He was educated locally at the South Monastery school. The family lived at Windmill road until Seán was eleven and then moved to the Sundays Well area of the city. He began playing hurling for the junior side at Sundays Well, but his obvious talent led him to seek a senior side to play for, eventually settling at Blackrock. Becoming a regular fixture in the Blackrock side, he quickly broke into a Cork senior team dominated by Blackrock. He first played for Cork in 1912 at left corner back but moved to full back in 1913 and remained in that position for club and county for the next sixteen years. In 1925 he appeared in his first All Ireland final when Cork lost to Laois, but four years later won his first All Ireland medal with the Cork side that overcame Dublin in the 1919 final. Short and stocky but extremely agile, he was widely regarded as the finest exponent of full back play of his generation. He was renowned for his ability to strike the sliotar first time, both on the ground and overhead, and had little time for the new techniques of high fielding or lifting the ball from the ground to strike it from the hand. His straightforward and fearless approach to the game was very effective but ensured he received more than his fair share of serious injuries.
A dominant figure in the Blackrock side, he won Cork county championships with them in 1920 and as captain in 1924, 1925, and 1927, but had to wait until near the end of his career to experience similar success with his county. An inspirational leader on the field, he captained Cork to victory in the inaugural National League final in 1926 and became the first ‘double’ winning captain when Cork triumphed over Kilkenny in the All Ireland final later that year. He captained Cork to the next two All Ireland finals, losing in 1927 but returning to beat Galway by a record margin in 1928. His status in the game was confirmed when he was chosen as captain of Munster in the first Railway Cup competition in 1927 when they lost in the final to Leinster. He led the province to victory in 1928 and 1929 and was also captain of Ireland's Tailteann games team in 1928. A serious injury sustained while playing against Limerick early in 1929 ended his career and prevented him from adding to his tally of three All Ireland medals. He immediately switched his remarkable energies to administration and became secretary to the Cork county board and their delegate on the Munster council from 1929 until his death. He also served as the county's delegate to the GAA's central council for six years.
He lived in Cork city for the remainder of his life, working on the clerical staff of the Cork Steampacket Co. He married (1936) Kathleen Healy of Eyeries, Castletownbere, who worked on the clerical staff of the same company; they had one son, Timothy. Murphy died after a brief illness on 12 June 1956 and was buried at St Finbarr's cemetry, Cork city.