The largest group of Munster Murphys trace their origins to the Múscraighe tribe, who inhabited the large area of western Cork which later became known as the barony of Muskerry.
The Cork Uí Murchadha were probably named for Murchadh, a prominent family member with lands at Knockavilla, near the modern village of Upton, near Bandon.
The family flourished by virtue of their support for the MacCarthys, the dominant Eoghanacht sept of South Munster. Their surname naturally evolved to Ó Murchú and was then anglicised to Murphy in the 17th century.
These Cork Murphys were rumoured to have an association with the Leinster Murphys, although It is impossible to establish any meaningful connection,
In Clare, a separate Uí Murchadha family arose within the prominent Dál gCais sept, whose headquarters was Kincora, at the top of a hill in Killaloe, on the shores of Lough Derg. These Uí Murchadha shared ancestry with Brian Ború, the great king who famous for defeating the Vikings at Clontarf, Dublin in 1014.
In Limerick, yet another Uí Murchadha group arose in the Croom region. They were part of the Uí Fhidhgheinte, another branch of the Eoghanacht.
Murphys of Munster
Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary - Photo courtesy of pdphoto.org