Michael Murphy has said that the only supplement he takes is a protein shake after gym sessions with the Donegal football squad.
The amount of supplements being consumed by top GAA players has come into focus after Brendan O’Sullivan’s anti-doping violation after last year’s league final with Kerry. O’Sullivan was initially given a four-year ban by Sport Ireland, though served only 21 weeks in total after it was accepted by authorities that he unwittingly consumed a contaminated supplement from a health shop.
The Valentia player, who appeared as a substitute in that league final defeat by Dublin, declared that he had taken eight different supplements in the 14 days prior to the game. Aside from Augmentin medication, he listed the following supplements: whey protein, Pharmaton, pre-fuel, caffeine tablets, caffeine gel, vitamin C, krill oil and magnesium.
Murphy, one of the most physically powerful figures in Gaelic games, said that the only supplement he takes is a simple protein shake to aid recovery.
“Personally, I try to keep it to a balanced diet and a protein shake after a gym session is about the height of it,” Murphy said. “I didn’t see the exact list [declared by O’Sullivan], and that could well be the case for him, but speaking for the teams that I’ve been involved in, I don’t think the list is as substantial as eight or nine anyway. Protein after a game or training is about it.
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“It’s a conversation around a table at the moment between players, chatting at dinner after a training session, it’s definitely under the spotlight. You’re saying, ‘Is that supplement alright?’
“But, again, speaking for ourselves, it’s not a list of eight or nine. The only thing I take now is after I do two gym sessions, I take whey protein, from Kinetica. I’m told that’s batch-tested and that’s okay and that’s all I take.”
Asked if he felt that the list of supplements taken by O’Sullivan seemed excessive, Murphy shrugged. “For me, looking in, it seems a bit, but whatever works for individuals and, if it’s all above board, by all means,” Murphy said.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice, the Kerry manager, defended the amount of supplements being used in the O’Sullivan case and claimed it is too difficult for players to eat the amount of food required to give the same benefits.
“Speaking for myself, on what I tend to use and not use, we’ve a nutritionist in with us at the moment and he’s very, very good and basically puts the whole emphasis back on diet and eating well,” Murphy said.