Brian Barry-Murphy (born 27 July 1978) is an Irish professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He is currently the head coach of club

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. He began his career at his hometown club

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

. In 1999, he moved to English club

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

, but began to establish himself in league football with loan spells at

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

and

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

. He would go on to play for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, and Bury before signing for local rivals Rochdale in 2010. Barry-Murphy has played internationally for the Republic of Ireland twice at under-21 level.

Early life

Barry-Murphy was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. His father,

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

, was a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er and hurler, and manager, who is widely considered to be one of the most iconic players in the history of

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

Club career

Brian Barry-Murphy has previously played for

and

as well as representing the Republic of Ireland at Under 21 level. He also had loan spells at

and

. It was at Southend in which he scored his first goal in English football in a game against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

. He scored the 1,000th goal for Bury in Tier 4 of the English Football League in a 2–2 draw with

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. This made them the first club to score 1,000 goals in all four tiers of the league.

Rochdale

On 16 June 2010 Barry-Murphy agreed terms with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

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 Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

on 5 November 2011. Barry-Murphy was club's first team coach, as well as retaining his registration as the club's senior outfield player.

Managerial career

Rochdale

Barry-Murphy was appointed Rochdale's caretaker manager in March 2019 following the sacking of Keith Hill. In April 2019 he was appointed permanent manager on a two-year contract. On 30 June 2021, Barry-Murphy resigned from his position as manager.

Manchester City Academy

On 24 July 2021, Barry-Murphy was announced as the manager of the Manchester City Elite Development Squad (EDS). 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.

Leicester City

In December 2024, Barry-Murphy joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in the role of first-team coach, supporting the newly appointed

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...

Cardiff City

On 16 June 2025, Barry-Murphy was appointed head coach of League One side

on a three-year deal.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barry-Murphy, Brian 1978 births Living people Association footballers from Cork (city)

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Cork City F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Bury F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players Republic of Ireland association football managers Rochdale A.F.C. managers Cardiff City F.C. managers English Football League managers Rochdale A.F.C. non-playing staff Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff Leicester City F.C. non-playing staff