Brian Barry-Murphy
Irish football player and manager (born 1978)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brian Barry-Murphy (born 27 July 1978) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of EFL Championship club Cardiff City.
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Barry-Murphy playing for Bury in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Barry-Murphy[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 July 1978[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cardiff City (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1999 | Cork City | ||
| 1999–2003 | Preston North End | 21 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Southend United (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2002 | → Hartlepool United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Sheffield Wednesday | 58 | (0) |
| 2004–2010 | Bury | 218 | (13) |
| 2010–2018 | Rochdale | 66 | (1) |
| Total | 378 | (15) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2019–2021 | Rochdale | ||
| 2021–2024 | Manchester City EDS | ||
| 2025– | Cardiff City | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
A defensive midfielder, Barry-Murphy began his career at his hometown club Cork City. In 1999, he moved to English club Preston North End, but began to establish himself in league football with loan spells at Southend United and Hartlepool United. He would go on to play for Sheffield Wednesday, and Bury before signing for local rivals Rochdale in 2010. Barry-Murphy also played for the Republic of Ireland twice at under-21 level.
Early life
Barry-Murphy was born in Cork.[1] His father, Jimmy, was a Gaelic footballer and hurler, and manager, who is widely considered to be one of the most iconic players in the history of Gaelic games.[3]
Club career
Brian Barry-Murphy has previously played for Cork City, Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday as well as representing the Republic of Ireland at Under 21 level. He also had loan spells at Southend United and Hartlepool United. It was at Southend in which he scored his first goal in English football in a game against Leyton Orient.[4] He scored the 1,000th goal for Bury in Tier 4 of the English Football League in a 2–2 draw with Wrexham.[citation needed] This made them the first club to score 1,000 goals in all four tiers of the league.
On 16 June 2010 Barry-Murphy agreed terms with Rochdale and signed a four-year contract in July. He scored his first and only goal for Rochdale in a 3–1 defeat at MK Dons on 5 November 2011.[5] Barry-Murphy was club's first team coach, as well as retaining his registration as the club's senior outfield player.[6]
Coaching career
Rochdale
Barry-Murphy was appointed Rochdale's caretaker manager in March 2019 following the sacking of Keith Hill.[7] In April 2019 he was appointed permanent manager on a two-year contract.[8] On 30 June 2021, Barry-Murphy resigned from his position as manager.[9]
Manchester City Academy
On 24 July 2021, Barry-Murphy was announced as the manager of the Manchester City Elite Development Squad (EDS).[10]
On 8 July 2024, Barry-Murphy left the club after having a highly successful three-year spell in charge of City's EDS and Academy.[11]
Leicester City
In December 2024, Barry-Murphy joined Premier League side Leicester City in the role of first-team coach, supporting the newly appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy.[12][13]
Cardiff City
On 16 June 2025, Barry-Murphy was appointed head coach of League One side Cardiff City on a three-year deal.[14][15] Sixteen points from an unbeaten first six matches saw him named EFL League One Manager of the Month for August 2025.[16] He won the award for a second time for December, after five wins from six matches saw Cardiff finish the calendar year top of the table.[17] On the 18th April 2026, Barry-Murphy won promotion to the EFL Championship after Cardiff City beat Reading.[18]
Career statistics
- As of match played 9 November 2016
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Preston North End | 1999–2000[19] | Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2000–01[20] | First Division | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02[21] | First Division | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03[22] | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| Southend United (loan) | 2001–02[21] | Third Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Hartlepool United (loan) | 2002–03[22] | Third Division | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2002–03[22] | First Division | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
| 2003–04[23] | Second Division | 41 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| Total | 58 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 67 | 0 | ||
| Bury | 2004–05[24] | League Two | 45 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 49 | 6 |
| 2005–06[25] | League Two | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 3 | |
| 2006–07[26] | League Two | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2007–08[27] | League Two | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| 2008–09[28] | League Two | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 48 | 2 | |
| 2009–10[29] | League Two | 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| Total | 218 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 245 | 13 | ||
| Rochdale | 2010–11[30] | League One | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| 2011–12[31] | League One | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 2012–13[32] | League Two | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2013–14[33] | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014–15[34] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[35] | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[36] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[37] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 66 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 77 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 378 | 15 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 434 | 15 | ||
- Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy / EFL Trophy
- Two appearances in Football League Trophy, two appearances in League Two play-offs
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 2 May 2026
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Rochdale | 4 March 2019 | 30 June 2021 | 109 | 34 | 28 | 47 | 31.2 | [38] |
| Cardiff City | 16 June 2025 | Present | 56 | 33 | 10 | 13 | 58.9 | [39] |
| Total | 165 | 67 | 38 | 60 | 40.6 | |||
Honours
Individual
- EFL League One Manager of the Month: August 2025,[16] December 2025[17]
Manager
Cardiff City
- EFL League One runner-up: 2025-26
