Murphy started playing the game on a reduced-size table his parents bought him in order to keep him off the streets of his native
Derry while growing up, before he moved to
The Midlands when he was a teenager. Murphy turned professional in 1991, and represented
Northern Ireland at the
World Cup in 1996, and also had his highest-ranking finish of a quarter-final in the
1997 Welsh Open. He reached a career high ranking of 29th in
Snooker world rankings 1997/1998 and
1998/1999. He appeared in the
1998 World Championship where he lost 3–10 to
Peter Ebdon. The following year he again reached the
World Championship but was defeated 8–10 by
John Parrott. ==Performance and rankings timeline==