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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Jim McLaughlin was arguably the greatest ever League of Ireland manager. Pic by Ray McManus/ Sportsfile
"I’m a very lucky person that I enjoyed all the years that I was involved. I’m pleased with what I achieved at Derry City and that my name is always associated with that. I was part of a Derry team that was successful and that’s grand.”
Derry City's greatest ever manager Jim McLaughlin has died at the age of 83.
The man who led the Candystripes to the treble of 1989 is widely regarded as the greatest League of Ireland manager there has ever been.
The striker made his debut as a 16-year-old for his hometown club before going to England to play for Birmingham, Shrewsbury and Swansea.
He returned to Ireland as player/manager of Dundalk in 1974 and led them to three league championships and three FAI Cups including the double in the 1978/79 season.
During his nine years at Oriel Park, Dundalk reached the last 16 of the European Cup in 1980 where they were narrowly beaten by Glasgow Celtic and the same stage of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1982 where they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Tottenham Hotspur.
In 1983, McLaughlin took over Shamrock Rovers and led the Milltown club for three of their four-in-a-row seasons of league success. He also led the Hoops to two FAI Cups during that period of dominance.
He returned to the Brandywell and took over from Noel King in 1986. The famous days of the late 1980s saw City rise to the top of Irish football, culminating with the historic Treble win of 1988/89. The achievement has never been equalled since.
Jim’s contribution was recognised throughout Irish football and he was awarded Special Merit Awards by both the Football Association of Ireland and the Soccer Writers Association. The historic nature of his achievements at Brandywell was reflected in 2019 when he was awarded the Freedom of the City by the local council.
He later went on to co-manage Shelbourne with Pat Byrne where he won yet another league title in 1992.
McLaughlin had further spells with Drogheda and Dundalk and managed a League of Ireland XI as well as the Irish Olympic team.
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