Frank Murphy bridged the gap in Irish middle-distance running between Ronnie Delany in the 1950s and Eamonn Coghlan in the 1970s, becoming the fourth Irish athlete to break the four-minute mile barrier when he ran 3:58.7 in Philadelphia on 1 June 1968, and competed in the men’s 1,500 metres at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, finishing 10th in his opening heat.

His story began in the Legion of Mary, where he won his first race on Portmarnock Strand and took home a copy of The Life of Edel Quinn as his prize; his next race was the Clonliffe Harriers Christmas race, from which he won a turkey. He went along to Clonliffe with a school friend to keep fit for Gaelic football, his chosen sport, and his natural talent was immediately apparent – he won the All-Ireland under-16 440-880y double on his first track appearance. In 1965 he became the latest Irish scholarship recruit to Villanova University under coach Jumbo Elliott, where he was co-captain of the track team alongside Dave Patrick. His 1968 season was curtailed by a stress fracture of the tibia – an injury the team doctor had never previously encountered – and in September, following a period of high-altitude preparation at Alamosa in Colorado, he reported to the Olympic Village. He finished 10th in his heat in 3:54.85 in a race won by his Villanova teammate Marty Liquori (USA) in 3:52.78.