Editing Cillian Murphy (section)

== Early life and education ==
[[File:Introduction to University Programme (IUP) career workshop c.1992 (9423657442).jpg|thumb|Murphy (second from right) with Tim Smyth, Eoin O'Sullivan and Maria-Theresa Grandfield in 1992]]

Murphy was born on 25 May 1976<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boland |first1=Yasmin |title=Horoscope |work=TV Guide |date=16 August 2021 |page=72}}</ref> in [[Douglas, Cork]]. His mother taught French while his father, Brendan, worked for the [[Department of Education (Ireland)|Department of Education]].<ref name="Independent action hero">{{cite news |author=Walsh, John |date=31 March 2007 |title=Murphy's lore: Meet the action hero who looks on the verge of tears |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/murphys-lore-meet-the-action-hero-who-looks-on-the-verge-of-tears-442417.html |url-status=dead |access-date=18 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420045449/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/murphys-lore-meet-the-action-hero-who-looks-on-the-verge-of-tears-442417.html |archive-date=20 April 2008}}</ref> His grandfather, aunts, and uncles were also teachers. He was raised in [[Ballintemple, Cork]], alongside his younger brother Páidi and younger sisters Sile and Orla.<ref name="Sun Times 2004">{{cite news |author=O'Sullivan, Gemma |date=1 February 2004 |title=Ireland: Sane Boy of the Western World |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]] |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article1006185.ece |url-status=dead |access-date=11 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615064840/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article1006185.ece |archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Premiere 2005 best">{{cite web|author=Lytal, Cristy|url=http://www.premiere.com/features/2487/the-24-finest-performances-of-2005-page24.html |title=The 24 Finest Performances of 2005: Cillian Murphy|publisher= Premiere|date= February 2006|access-date=19 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205015457/http://www.premiere.com/features/2487/the-24-finest-performances-of-2005-page24.html |archive-date=5 December 2008 }}</ref> He started writing and performing songs at the age of 10.<ref name="RTE Guide 2004">{{cite journal|author=O'Donoghue, Donal|title=Western Hero|journal=RTÉ Guide|date= 6 February 2004}}</ref>

Murphy was raised [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and attended the fee-paying Catholic secondary school [[Presentation Brothers College, Cork|Presentation Brothers College]], where he did well academically but often got into trouble, sometimes being suspended; he decided in his fourth year that misbehaving was not worth the hassle.<ref name="Independent action hero" /> Not keen on sports, which was a major part of the school's curriculum, he found that artistic pursuits were neglected at the school.<ref name="Sun Times 2004" />

Murphy got his first taste of performing in secondary school when he participated in a drama module presented by [[Corcadorca Theatre Company]] director Pat Kiernan. He later described the experience as a "huge high" and a "fully alive" feeling that he then set out to chase.<ref name="From Cork to Gotham">{{cite news|author=Jackson, Joe|title=From Cork to Gotham|newspaper=Sunday Independent Life Magazine|date=8 February 2004}}</ref> Novelist [[William Wall (writer)|William Wall]], who was his English teacher, encouraged him to pursue acting but he was set on becoming a rock star.<ref name="TONY 2005">{{cite web|author=Kaufman, Anthony|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/blue-streak|title=Blue Streak|work=Time Out New York|date=10 November 2005|access-date=19 July 2007|archive-date=29 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929074652/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/blue-streak|url-status=live}}</ref> In his late teens and early 20s, he sang and played the guitar in several bands alongside his brother, Páidi, and the [[The Beatles|Beatles]]-obsessed duo named their most successful band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, which they adopted from the [[Frank Zappa]] song [[Hot Rats|of the same name]]. He later said the band "specialised in wacky lyrics and endless guitar solos". They were offered a five-album deal by [[Acid Jazz Records]], which they rejected because Páidi was still in school and the duo did not agree with the small amount of money they would get for giving the record label the rights to Murphy's compositions.<ref name="From Cork to Gotham" /><ref name="Observer O'Hagan">{{cite news |author=O'Hagan, Sean |date=11 June 2006 |title=I just want to challenge myself with each role |work=[[The Observer]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jun/11/features.review1 |url-status=live |access-date=8 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108025956/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jun/11/features.review1 |archive-date=8 January 2014}}</ref> Murphy later confessed, "I'm very glad in retrospect that we didn't sign because you kind of sign away your life to a label and the whole of your music."<ref>{{cite news |date=10 February 2009 |title=Hollywood star Cillian Murphy has swapped his movie script to spin the disks this week. |newspaper=[[The Herald (Ireland)|Evening Herald]] |location=Dublin |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-193361405.html |url-status=dead |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073343/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-193361405.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}}{{subscription required}}</ref>

Murphy began studying law at [[University College Cork]] (UCC) in 1996 but failed his first-year exams because he "had no ambitions to do it".<ref name="From Cork to Gotham" /> Not only was he busy with his band, but he knew within days after starting at UCC that he did not want to practise law.<ref name="RTE Guide 2004" /> After seeing Corcadorca's stage production of ''[[A Clockwork Orange: A Play with Music|A Clockwork Orange]]'', directed by Kiernan, he began directing his attention to acting.<ref name="From Cork to Gotham" /> His first major role was in the UCC Drama Society's amateur production of ''[[Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme]]'', which starred Irish-American comedian [[Des Bishop]]. Murphy also played the lead in their production of ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (musical)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'', which was performed in the [[Cork Opera House]]. He later admitted that his primary motivation at the time was not to pursue an acting career, but to go to parties and meet women.<ref name="RTE Guide 2004" />