He may have played NFL with Tampa Bay Buccaneers but for Patrick Murray there is one thing that trumps it all.
“I am actually in Manhattan talking to you from my office here,” says Murray, whose uncles Ciaran and Brendan won an Ulster title and a National League with Monaghan.
“Last night I was able to lace the boots back up and go training with Rocklands (GAA).
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“So I kicked over a few points and oh god it brings back old memories. It is still my favourite thing to do.
“Lace up those boots and go out with the lads and kick the ball around.
“Look, there is a semi final on and I am still registered. I may sneak into Gaelic Park and see what I can do.”
Murray (31), who was also on the books of the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints, wasn’t always able to play GAA as his American football career began to gather pace:
“I mean the dream was to go and win a Sigerson with DCU,” he says.
“That was my goal and I would have had to start at Queens’, but I would have spent some time there and then hopefully moved over to DCU.
“Growing up, playing in Gaelic Park was what we did.
“I had (American) football season and I wasn’t technically allowed to play during the season because of obvious injury reasons. I kind of maybe played one or two times and nobody could figure it out.
“But when I got the chance to go over to Ireland and play, or do I take a chance at this American football kicking thing, the choice was kind of made for me.
“It was the best choice that could have been made. I got a fantastic degree from Fordham University.
“I got the opportunity to do a lot of really cool things in college football, set a whole bunch of records, get all these accolades, meet some incredible people and obviously that led to the NFL.
“But the dream was always there, even in college, to go and play and I remember somehow my coach in college found out that I was still playing for Rockland.
“He called me into his office and he said, ‘If you play that sport that I cannot pronounce again, I am pulling your scholarship.’
“So that was kind of the end of that dream for a couple of years.”
Murray was a regular at Monaghan Championship games - club and county - in his formative years.
“Well don’t think I didn’t pretend I ran out the tunnel at St. Tiernach’s Park for an Ulster final because nearly every summer I was pretending that with my dad and brother,” he says.
“Look, it would have meant the world to me. At the end of the day, my uncles Ciaran and Brendan both had the chance to lift a National League. They won an Ulster title.
“That was always the goal, to get back and play in some capacity. I transitioned obviously to dreaming of playing for New York. That was never able to happen as well.
“You never know. At the end of the day I could get involved in some way, shape or form.
“I had a fantastic career, but the dream was always to win Sam for Monaghan. Hopefully somebody else can do it.”
Murray says the only route for young Irish American football hopefuls is through the college system.
“Let’s talk kicking,” he says. “My job as a field goal kicker is to get the ball up from snap, to hold, to kick in less than 1.3 seconds.
“So you logically think: ‘Okay, what free-takers would suit that well?’
“I think Stephen Cluxton would be fantastic. Now, he’d have to change his approach and change his style but if you talk about accuracy and dealing with pressure then there’s your man.
“Sean O’Shea, Dean Rock - the list goes on and on and on. There are guys who are very accurate when they’re kicking a ball and they just have to adjust their technique a little bit.
“There’s a chance, but I was kicking an American football since I was 13.
“To get to that NFL level, to get the timing right, to understand what it means to kick with a helmet and shoulder-pads – because it’s very different – it does take time.
“But there’s no reason why some of those 18-19 year-old lads who may be on that county panel, or there or thereabouts couldn’t go and give it a shot.”
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