Barry Murphy represented Ireland in the men’s 50 metres freestyle and 100 metres breaststroke at the 2012 London Olympic Games, finishing 29th in both events.

A Dubliner and past pupil of Belvedere College, Murphy took up swimming aged eleven under coach Mary Geran and went on to attend the University of Tennessee on a scholarship from 2005 to 2009, earning numerous All-American certificates and setting conference records including Tennessee’s first sub-19 second 50 yard freestyle. After completing his eligibility he moved to train with the elite Club Wolverine programme at the University of Michigan under coach Mike Bottom.

At the 2009 World Championships in Rome he set a new championship record in the 50 metres breaststroke heats with a time of 27.26 seconds, becoming the first Irishman to reach a breaststroke semi-final at a World Championship. He became the first Irish male to qualify for London 2012 when he broke the Olympic A standard in the 100 metres breaststroke at the Indianapolis Grand Prix in March 2011, winning the event in 1:00.77.

He became an ambassador for the Asthma Society of Ireland in 2012, having been diagnosed with asthma at the age of 15 – a condition he managed throughout his elite career. He won a European Championship bronze medal in the 50 metres breaststroke in 2013 before retiring in 2014.