Paul Hegarty returns to Derry City as assistant manager to Ruaidhri Higgins

Paul Hegarty has finally returned to Derry City after over eight years away, with the club confirming him as the new assistant to Ruaidhri Higgins today.

One of only a handful of players to win the treble in 1989 and Derry City’s second and last title in 1997, Hegarty knows the club inside out, having been involved in different roles on and off the pitch for over three decades.

A key member of Jim McLaughlin’s all-conquering side of 1988/89, Hegarty returned to the club to help Felix Healy bring the title back to the Brandywell eight years later. In all, the midfielder made 303 appearances in two spells at the Brandywell, scoring nine goals, one of which was the famous winner in the Irish News Cup final of 1997, which saw the Candystripes come from 4-0 down to beat Sligo Rovers over two legs.

Hegarty returned to the club in 2006 as assistant manager to Stephen Kenny, and helped Derry City to within touching distance of another treble as well as that famous European Dance, which brought games against IFK Gothenburg, Gretna and Paros St. Germain. He was also assistant manager to Declan Devine in 2012.

Hegarty has also seen the lows as well as the highs at the club, and returned as caretaker manager in 2015, helping steer the club to safety following the departure of manager Peter Hutton.

The arrival of Hegarty on this occasion is timely, with the new League of Ireland season set to kick off next Friday against Drogheda United.

“I’m delighted to be working with Paul and he’ll bring a wealth of experience to our group”, said manager Ruaidhri Higgins, who worked under Hegarty in 2006.

“I know from previous experience that he brings an unbelievable work ethic and knowledge of this league and its players.

“Paul will be of great support to me going forward and this is a club that has always been very close to his heart. He brings real intelligence to his work and and I’m looking forward to tapping into that.

“He has enjoyed success here in the past, both as a player, and then as assistant to Stephen Kenny, and we’ll do everything in our power to bring more in the future.”

Hegarty, who was last involved in football as assistant to Ollie Horgan in 2021, has been close to a return on a number of occasions in recent years, and he admitted it was good to be back.

“I’m delighted to be back and I’m fairly sure everybody knows what this club means to me,” he said.

“I’m here to do whatever I can to help Ruaidhri and the players and it’s a challenge I’m really looking forward to.”