Brian Barry-Murphy

Club career Brian Barry-Murphy has previously played for Cork City, Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday as well as representing the Republic of Ireland at Under 21 level. He also had loan spells at Southend United and Hartlepool United. It was at Southend in which he scored his first goal in English football in a game against Leyton Orient. He scored the 1,000th goal for Bury in Tier 4 of the English Football League in a 2–2 draw with Wrexham. This made them the first club to score 1,000 goals in all four tiers of the league.

On 16 June 2010 Barry-Murphy agreed terms with Rochdale and signed a four-year contract in July. He scored his first and only goal for Rochdale in a 3–1 defeat at MK Dons on 5 November 2011. Barry-Murphy was club's first team coach, as well as retaining his registration as the club's senior outfield player.

Coaching career Rochdale Barry-Murphy was appointed Rochdale's caretaker manager in March 2019 following the sacking of Keith Hill. In April 2019 he was appointed permanent manager on a two-year contract. On 30 June 2021, Barry-Murphy resigned from his position as manager.

Manchester City Academy On 24 July 2021, Barry-Murphy was announced as the manager of the Manchester City Elite Development Squad (EDS).

On 8 July 2024, Barry-Murphy left the club after having a highly successful three-year spell in charge of City's EDS and Academy.

Leicester City In December 2024, Barry-Murphy joined Premier League side Leicester City in the role of first-team coach, supporting the newly appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Cardiff City On 16 June 2025, Barry-Murphy was appointed head coach of League One side Cardiff City on a three-year deal. Sixteen points from an unbeaten first six matches saw him named EFL League One Manager of the Month for August 2025. He won the award for a second time for December, after five wins from six matches saw Cardiff finish the calendar year top of the table. On 18 April 2026, Barry-Murphy won promotion to the EFL Championship after Cardiff defeated Reading to confirm automatic promotion.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours Individual EFL League One Manager of the Month: August 2025, December 2025 Manager

Cardiff City EFL League One runner-up: 2025-26

Personal life Barry-Murphy is married to broadcaster Sarah-Jane Crawford and they share 3 children together.