Emily Murphy (born 2 March 2003) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League side Brighton & Hove Albion. Born in England, she represents the Republic of Ireland at international level.
Murphy played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, making national title game appearances with both teams.
College career North Carolina Tar Heels Murphy moved to the United States in 2021 to attend college at the University of North Carolina and play for the North Carolina Tar Heels under Anson Dorrance. She started for the team during her freshman year, scoring 5 goals and leading the team with 6 assists in 15 games. She was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) all-freshman team. North Carolina earned a two seed in the NCAA tournament but was upset in the first round.
In her sophomore season in 2022, she featured primarily as a substitute but nearly matched her previous year's tally with 5 goals and 4 assists in 24 appearances. She appeared in four games during the NCAA tournament, where the Tar Heels lost to UCLA in the final.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Murphy transferred to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in 2023. In her junior season, she scored 6 goals and 2 assists in 17 games. Wake Forest went undefeated at home but ended its season in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.
In her senior season in 2024, Murphy led the Demon Deacons to one of the greatest seasons in program history. She scored and assisted Caiya Hanks during a 4–1 win against Florida State, ending their 32–game unbeaten streak. Wake Forest placed second in the ACC regular season and lost on penalties to Florida State in the ACC tournament semifinals. In the NCAA tournament, Murphy scored in each of the first three rounds. She was named in the all-tournament team after helping the team advance to first national final in program history, where the Demon Deacons lost 1–0 to the Tar Heels. Murphy finished the season with 7 goals and 8 assists in 23 games (both second to Hanks on the team) and was named second-team All-ACC.
Club career Chelsea On 20 November 2019, Murphy made her senior debut when being subbed on against Tottenham Hotspur in the group stage of the Continental League Cup in a game where Chelsea won 5–1.
Newcastle United After college, Murphy signed with FA Women’s Championship side Newcastle United in January 2025. She managed to get 2 goals and 5 assists in just 9 games in the 2024–25 season.
Brighton On 24 July 2026, Brighton announced that Murphy had signed for the Gulls after just a year and a half at Newcastle.
International career In October 2019, Murphy was called to up to the England U17 team to play in the 2020 U17 UEFA Championship qualification games and played against Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Belgium. Murphy scored one of the goals in the 4–1 win against Belgium.
Murphy was one of four Irish-eligible players to be invited to a senior Republic of Ireland national team training camp in April 2021. In February 2024 she was called up to Ireland's squad for friendlies against Wales and Italy under new manager Eileen Gleeson.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsChelsea2019–20Women's Super League21003152Birmingham City (loan)2020–21Women's Super League1112200133Newcastle United2024–25Women's Championship9210001022025-26Women's Super League 22263130287Total3184130389Brighton & Hove Albion2026–27Women's Super League50002070Career total491063816314
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsRepublic of Ireland202450202581202651Total182 No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition130 May 2025Esenier Staduim, Instanbul, Turkey2–12–12025 UEFA Women's Nations League214 April 2026 Gdańsk Stadium, Gdańsk, Poland 1–0 3–22027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
References
External links
North Carolina profile