Rugby star Conor Murray’s father seriously injured after collision with truck in Limerick

Gerry Murray, who is in his late 60s, is an avid and experienced cyclist who has worked as an official motorbike marshal on the Tour de France.

He was cycling on the N20 near Patrickswell when there was a collision involving his bike and a truck last Tuesday afternoon.

Gardaí closed the road for 90 minutes as emergency services worked to extract the father-of-three from the wreckage.

Mr Murray, who is married to former Irish international squash player, Barbara Murray, was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick.

He was later transferred to Cork University Hospital with serious head injuries.

The Patrickswell community are “in shock” and praying he would make a quick recovery as Mr Murray’s family travelled to Cork to be at his bedside, a local source said.

“He was very seriously injured and we are hoping he will get through it.

“He is a very active man, cycling all his life, he is a serious cycling enthusiast, and he was involved as a marshal with the Tour de France for a couple of years, and he is also big into motorbikes.

“The road was closed for about ninety minutes when they extracted him into the ambulance, it was a very serious incident, he is lucky to be alive and hopefully he will pull through.”

A garda spokesman said: “Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene of a traffic collision that occurred at approximately 3:25pm on Tuesday, the 7th February 2023 on the N20 in Patrickswell, Co Limerick.

“A truck and a cyclist were involved in this collision. The cyclist, a man aged in his 60s, was conveyed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment of serious injuries sustained as a result of this collision.

“The road involved in this collision was closed for a period while emergency services attended the scene and is now re-opened for use.”

Mr Murray’s son Conor was today named by Irish rugby coach Andy Farrell as fit to start for Ireland against France in Round Two of the Six Nations. The game will take place at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, this Saturday.

Mr Murray previously spoke about his immense pride at his son's success on the rugby field, including being named as Lions captain during the tour of South Africa in 2021.