Jim McLaughlin, one of Dundalk FC, and the League of Ireland’s, greatest managers of all time has sadly passed away at the age of 83.
Born in the shadow of the Brandywell in Derry on December 22nd, 1940, James Christopher McLaughlin signed for Derry City as a teenager. In September 1957, a couple of months short of his 17th birthday, he scored on his debut against Crusaders.
A return of 16 goals in his first season with The Candystripes saw him move to Birmingham City for a transfer fee of £4,000 in the summer of 1958 and he spent 14 years in England as a player, having spells at another three clubs Shrewsbury Town, Swansea City and Peterborough United, making a total of 431 appearances, scoring 126 goals.
International honours also came his way and in October 1961, he took over the left wing spot on the Northern Ireland team from former Dundalk FC attacker Peter McParland, scoring against Scotland on his debut. In total, Jim won 12 caps, scoring six goals.
During his second spell at Swansea City, and his last in the UK, he accepted manager Harry Gregg’s invitation to become player-coach and in November 1974, he returned to Ireland, accepting the position of player-manager at Oriel Park.
Little did anyone know what was about to unfold…
Over the following quarter of a century, McLaughlin provided the material that would re-write the history of several League of Ireland clubs, notably Dundalk Football Club.
During his nine seasons at the helm at Oriel Park, Dundalk won three league titles, three FAI Cups, two League Cups, two Leinster Senior Cups and three LFA President’s Cups.
Famously, Dundalk also became a recognised name in European circles. In his nine European ties at Oriel Park, against some of the continent’s leading clubs like FC Porto, Glasgow Celtic, PSV Eindhoven and Tottenham Hotspur, the Lilywhites lost just once, against Liverpool in 1982, with the opposition managing just three goals in five years.
Jim McLaughlin, pictured with Willie Crawley and Dundalk supporters after the 1981 FAI Cup win over Sligo Rovers
Undeterred by a low budget, McLaughlin delivered instant success at the club, guiding Dundalk to the league title in his first full season, and Dundalk’s 50th in the League of Ireland, in 1975-76, followed by the club’s first FAI Cup success in 19 years when they beat Limerick in the 1977 final.
A league and FAI Cup double followed in 1979 with McLaughlin’s ‘Mean Machine’ going within an inch of beating Celtic and booking a place against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the European Cup!
Always striving for improvement, he tweaked that great side and Dundalk went on to win another FAI Cup in 1981, subsequently pushing Tottenham Hotspur all the way in an epic European Cup Winners Cup tie, before leading the club to their third league title in six years, and his final trophy at Oriel Park, in 1982.
The McLaughlin era, as it came to be known, ended at The Showgrounds in Sligo after the final game of the 1982-83 season. During his nine seasons at the helm, Dundalk played 354 games, winning 193, losing 83 and drawing 78. The team scored 607 goals during his spell at the club and conceded 344.
His departure from Oriel Park shocked everyone in Dundalk but he went on to wrack up a host of trophies, winning a further five League of Ireland titles, a record that will take some breaking.
Three of those came with Shamrock Rovers, where he won two back-to-back league and FAI Cup doubles, while in 1989 he led his hometown club, Derry City, to an unprecedented league, FAI Cup and League Cup treble.
Subsequent managerial stints further enhanced his status as a giant of the League of Ireland scene, first at Shelbourne whose 1991-92 Championship victory filled a 30-year gap since their previous win, and then leading Drogheda United to promotion from the First Division in 1994-95.
Already retired for many years, he answered a crisis call from Dundalk FC following the sudden departure of Eddie May at the beginning of the 1997-98 year but he couldn’t prevent the club from spiralling to relegation for the first time in 1999.
Twenty-five years after walking into the dugout at Oriel Park, Jim finally walked away.
The greatest? It will be hard to ever find better.
