To me Jim will always be Dundalk's greatest-ever manager

Last Thursday saw the passing of Jim McLaughlin, the most successful manager ever in League of Ireland football. Jim passed away around noon following a long illness. He leaves behind him a football legacy that will never ever be matched.

He had massive success with Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers, Derry City and also Shelbourne. He will be forever a legend at Oriel Park. I was lucky to have witnessed his entire era, even though I was a mere kid at secondary school for most of it.

Last Thursday Jim's son Paul was delivering home heating oil to my home in Blackrock. I live in my late dad's home. I had not seen Paul for years. I asked him about his dad. Paul told me that he was not well. I got the impression that Jim's time on this earth was going to be very short. This was at 10 am. Two hours later Jim slipped away. Paul got the call immediately that his dad had died.

I thought there was an irony that Paul had visited my house on the day his dad had passed. My Dad, Jim Malone was Vice Chairman of Dundalk throughout the entire time of Jim's successful time in Dundalk. They were great friends. Jim visited my da's home many a time when he was manager of Dundalk.

I did not hear the news that Jim was gone until around half-four on Thursday afternoon. I was in the house of Dundalk FC legend John Murphy when the news came through. John was Jim's assistant in season 1976-77 when Dundalk won the cup for the first time in 19 years.

I was shocked when I heard Jim had died. John was also very shaken. There were tears in his eyes as he took in the news. I had just finished speaking to John about how bad a situation the current Dundalk team are in. He had spent time talking in hope that Dundalk could avoid automatic relegation.

This column was to focus on what John thought would happen in the last nine games. But instead, it's about a legend who as a player was on the Northern Ireland side that had Georgie Best in it.

Jim was born on 22nd December 1940 in the city of Derry. His parents' home was very close to the Brandywell, home of Derry City FC. Jim never forgot his Derry roots right throughout his life. Dundalk was to become his adopted home later in life. But he was always a Derry man through and through.

Jim joined Derry in 1957. At that time City were playing in the Irish League. In his one and only season playing as a striker McLaughlin scored 13 goals for Derry, making 13 appearances. At the age of 18 Jim moved across the water and signed for Birmingham City.

He was there for two seasons but failed to break into the first team. Jim's career took off when he signed for Shrewsbury Town. He was there from 1950 to 1963 where he made 124 appearances and scored 56 goals. Jim moved to Swansea City in July 1963 and was there for four years. He made 123 first-team appearances netting 45 goals. Jim spent another four years at Shrewsbury town again from 1967 to 1972 making 173 first team appearances scoring 21 goals. Jim was back with Swansea City in 1972 where he made 28 first-team appearances scoring twice.

Jim had a very successful international career. He played for the Northern Ireland senior team 12 times. He scored six times for them. In one of the games, he struck twice against England leading the North to a historical 3-2 win in a side that included Bobby Moore, Gordon Banks, Jack and Bobby Charlton.

Amazingly Jim broke his arm in the game. When he got the injury he was in extreme agony as he lay on the ground with the pain. But in those days there were no such things as substitutes. Jim was patched up by the medics and bravely came back on to lead the North to the historic win.

In October 1974 Dundalk sacked their manager John Smith. John had come into the Dundalk set up as a player-manager in season 1974/75 and had an immediate impact. He brought with him two players who were to play a huge role in Dundalk's success under Jim McLaughlin. Richie Blackmore and Jimmy Dainty were among the players Smith brought in.
Blackmore who was possibly the best keeper to play for Dundalk. Dainty's role as a winger was to rip open defences going forward.

John Smith stabilised the club in his first season 1973-74. Dundalk had finished in the bottom two the year before in the league. When John Smith was sacked in September 1974, the manager's job was offered to John Murphy. John turned the offer down. Peter Watson became temporary team manager. This lasted a month. Dundalk needed a new manager again.

This time they looked to the UK. Jim McLaughlin was available. Dundalk director Charlie Mcann made contact with McLaughlin. He was willing to come for an interview. But Sligo Rovers were also interested in getting McLaughlin to the northwest. Jim decided to head to Sligo for an interview. But as he drove to the northwest, something happened en route to Sligo which made him change course and head for Dundalk. Paul McLaughlin says that some say he saw a ghost, but that yes legend had it something peculiar occurred.

It was Dundalk's lucky day. McLaughlin did his interview and got the Dundalk job. His first game in charge was against Home Farm in Tolka Park. McLaughlin's team had a good two-nil win.

This was November 1974. I spent four weeks in hospital at that time in Lourdes. My dad called in to see me on the way home. He told me that Dundalk had won. He was excited. He turned to me and said that McLaughlin was the real deal. He could see the way Jim had organised the team into the shape they had, that something was about to happen.

The following January Jim McLaughlin took his team back to Tolka Park to play Home Farm in the FAI Cup. The Dublin side were all amateur. Dundalk were beaten 1-0 in a shock score line. Home Farm had players like Noel King, and Dermot Keely playing with them. They were a very skilful team. The shock was taken very badly by McLaughlin. Dundalk had very little money.

But in the close season, he built a team that took the League of Ireland by storm. In came tough defender Jackie McManus. Supporters used to carry big flags with the insignia Jackie Bites Yer legs. He was a tough but fair defender.

McLaughlin signed skilled midfielders Seamus McDowell and Seanie McLaughlin.Brian McConville was taken out of retirement and became an instant hit. McLaughlin played himself sometimes in defence or In midfield. Sean Sheehy was signed from Bohemians as a striker. They had won the league the year before. Tommy McConville was the key man in the centre of the defence. Jimmy Dainty played out on one wing while Tony Cavanagh played on the other.

The 75-76 season started slowly for Dundalk. Three weeks into the new season Bohemians centre forward Terry Flanagan signed for Dundalk. Terry was the final piece in the McLaughlin jigsaw. This was a magnificent team. They lost just one game in the race for the title. They had a strong defence, a midfield of steel and to me one of the best strikers if not the best the club ever had in Terry Flanagan.

The title race was mainly a two-horse race. In February 1976 Dundalk faced their arch rivals Finn Harps at Ballybofey. They soaked up a lot of pressure but hit Harps on the break with two magnificent goals from Terry Flanagan. Harps finished the game with 10 men after Terry Harkin was sent off. Dundalk won and went to the top of the table for the first time that season.

The troubles in the north were raging with people being slaughtered on both sides of the South Armagh border. The loyalist Glenanne gang had just killed a family of five. In response, the IRA murdered 10 protestant workmen travelling in a van at Whitecross. Dundalk fans travelled in convoys of cars, nervous of the murders that were ongoing on the border.

I remember as a kid being very fearful travelling through the north in darkness. We were stopped at a giant British army base in Aughnacloy. Often the soldiers there could give you hassle. Not on this occasion and we were able to travel home safely.

Jim McLaughlin guided his side to the title by April of that season. But the title race went down to the wire. They had to beat Cork Hibs on the final day of the season. Jim McLaughlin was sent off. But Dundalk did get their win with a great goal from Terry Flanagan.McLaughlin had never been sent off in a game before. The referee was Dominic Byrne. When Byrne blew the final whistle 5,000 fans were delirious. The manager was nowhere to be seen at the end. But he soon came on to collect Dundalk's first League title since 1967.

Dundalk were in the European Cup the following season. They drew with top Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. Van de Kerkoff got the lead goal at Oriel for the Dutch. But Seamus 'Shakes' McDowell fired home a pile drive to put Dundalk level going into the second leg. Disaster struck for Dundalk early on when Richie Blackmore was injured. In the end, the Dutch went on to win the game and advance.

The loss of Richie Blackmore had a profound effect on Dundalk defending their title. Replacement keeper Eddie Mahon had a disaster of a start conceding three early goals against Sligo in the first league game of the season. Dundalk fought back but in the end, they were beaten. Dundalk were out of the title race quickly enough. But Richie Blackmore returned from injury before Christmas.

Dundalk started their cup challenge in a game against Pegasus. They were a Leinster senior League team who were made up mainly from graduates of UCD. Terry Flanagan put Dundalk in front. But Pegagus levelled in the last 15 minutes. It looked as though the game was heading for a replay when Flanagan popped up in injury time to get the goal that sent Dundalk through to round 2. One Kevin Moran was playing for Pegasus. He was signed by Man United after the game.

On their way to the final Dundalk were drawn away to Cork Celtic. Cork were the only team that beat Dundalk the previous season in the league. This time Dundalk got revenge and knocked Cork out of the cup by a goal from Mick Lawlor. Dundalk met Pats in the semi-final.

The first game ended in a draw. Dundalk won the replay with a goal from Synan Braddish. Dundalk were in their first cup final since 1958. They won it in style beating Limerick by two goals to nil. Jim McLaughlin played for Dundalk that day. Terry Flanagan got an early goal. Limerick put Dundalk under massive pressure for much of the game. In the final ten minutes, a corner was swung in from the left. Flanagan rose high to head home and Dundalk had won the Cup.

Jim McLaughlin's men met a top European side Hajduk Split in round one of the cup winners cup the following September in Oriel Park. They were from a country then known as Yugoslavia. It was a tight game, but Dundalk won it in the final 10 minutes with another goal from the ace striker Terry Flanagan. Split won the second leg at home rather easily as there was a row among some players and the Dundalk board over expenses. Two of the players never travelled and also never played for Dundalk again.

That season 1977-78 was to be the only one of two seasons Dundalk failed to qualify for Europe under Jim McLaughlin. But the season did give the Dundalk boss the bricks to build his next great side. Three players Synan Braddish, Brian Duff and Derek Carroll were signed by Liverpool for a massive fee of 100,000 pounds. Both Duff and Carroll hardly featured in the Dundalk side. Braddish did as he scored the winning goal in the cup semi-final replay of 1977 against Pats. Jim McLaughlin was a busy man in the transfer window in the summer of 1978.

He used the Liverpool money to bring in Leo Pop Flanagan and the great Dermot Keely. Sean Byrne, Hilary Carlyle, Cathal Muckian, Liam Devine, Paddy Dunning, and Vincent McKenna were all brought in. Now Supermac had built a team that nobody would hold back. Dundalk won the league in season 1978-79 in style. It was not an easy title to win. It never is. but with Richie Blackmore in goals and a back four of Martin Lawlor, Paddy Dunning, Tommy McConville and Dermot Keely Dundalk had a massive defence.

Pop Flanagan, Mick Lawlor, Sean Byrne and Liam Devine were key in midfield while Hillary Carlyle and Cathal Muckian were unstoppable up front. Martin Lawlor arrived at Oriel in 1976 at the age of 17. He did play in America before returning to win his way into the Dundalk first team.

Dundalk beat Waterford 2-0 in the cup final to win the first league and cup double in the history of the club. Sean Byrne was among the goal scorers.

Europe beckoned for Dundalk once more. For the first time ever the club were drawn in a preliminary round of the European Cup. They played Linfield, the Irish League champions. Tensions were very high in the north when this game was played in mid-August. Lord Mountbatten had been killed in an explosion in Sligo along with two young children. The same day 18 British soldiers were killed in a bomb and gun attack at Narrow Water just outside Warrenpoint in South Down. The following day Linfield were in Oriel.

The game was played with constant clashes between Linfield supporters and Gardai. amazingly the referee allowed the game to continue.. Linfield snatched the lead. But a goal from Liam Devine 15 minutes from time tied things up. UEFA ordered the second leg be played behind closed doors. It was played in Harlem in Holland. Linfield had been found guilty for causing the violence. Dundalk won the game in Holland by two goals to nil. They went through on an aggregate score of three goals to one. Dundalk native Cathal Muckian got the two vital goals in Holland.

Dundalk played Hibernian of Malta in the first round proper. They went through over the two legs to the last 16 of the European Cup. Jim McLaughlin's men were drawn against Glasgow Celtic. Nobody gave the team a chance. However, they were beaten by only the narrowest of margins at Park Head by three goals to two. Dundalk only needed a one-nil win, to advance to the quarter-finals. They failed to get the all-important goal. Tommy McConville came very close to causing a major upset when his shot in the box was only inches away. Dundalk bowed out of Europe. Had they reached the quarter-finals, Real Madrid waited. There was a record crowd attendance of 22,000 at that game in Oriel.

Dundalk did not win any of the major trophies in 1980. But they did qualify for the Inter City Fairs Cup. They were drawn against Portuguese giants FC Porto. The home game at Oriel ended in a very creditable scoreless draw. Dundalk went out when Porto beat them by a goal to nil in Portugal. Dundalk won their third FAI cup under Jim McLaughlin in May 1981. They beat Sligo Rovers by two goals to nil. It was a tremendous feat by Jim McLaughlin once more. Dundalk were drawn against Fran Rekavik of Iceland in round one. They won that tie.

The prize in round two was a home game against English FA Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur. The first leg was at Oriel. 20,000 people crammed into the famous old stadium. Spurs took the lead with a goal from Garth Crooks. But Mick Fairclough replied with an equaliser for Dundalk. Spurs were on the back foot for much of the game. Dundalk went into the second leg level on scores. but to win the tie they needed to score, as Spurs got an away goal in Oriel. Spurs won the game at White Hart Lane by a single goal.

Chris Hoddle many years later went into his trip to Dundalk in great detail in his autobiography. The former England manager spoke about the fear that Spurs had of coming to Dundalk, given how close it was so close to the north. Added to this Dundalk had a reputation of being a strong republican town. His fears were totally unfounded but understandable.

Steve Archibald got the winning goal for Spurs. Willy Crawley was a member of the Dundalk team for some time then. He was a fantastic player. Jimmy Reilly from Park Street came on as a substitute in the latter part of the game.

Dundalk went on to win their third and final league trophy in that season. under Jim. The season went down to the wire in May 1982. Dundalk needed to win against Athlone at Saint Mell's Park. They did it by a single goal. It was scored in the sand in Athlone when a cross was swung in from the right. Hilary Carlyle got down to dive and head the ball to the net. The ball bulged the net. The team celebrated. Jim McLaughlin was so happy as Linfield fans celebrated. Little did anybody know that it was to be the last time Jim won a big trophy with Dundalk.

Dundalk played Liverpool in the European Cup. The first leg was in Oriel. The previous time they played Liverpool was in the late 1960's in the Inter City Fairs Cup. Liverpool hammered Dundalk 10-0 at Anfield and put four past them in Oriel. In 1982 Jim Mclaughlin's team were beaten 4-1 by Bob Paisley's side at Oriel. Pop Flanagan got Dundalk's goal.

Liverpool were expecting an easy return leg. But it did not turn out that way. The Merseysiders could only manage a 1-0 win over the Irish Champions. Graham Souness was among a number of players who slagged the Dundalk players on the night as they thought it was going to be a comfortable win. But Jim McLaughlin's tactics ensured there was to be no repeat of the hammering Dundalk got from Liverpool in the 1960s.

Liverpool were the only side that managed to beat Dundalk at Oriel in European competition under Jim. And his legacy will always state that he had a team that came very close to qualifying for the last 8 of the European Cup. That of course was in 1979. In fairness to Souness, he visited the Dundalk Hotel after the 1-0 win for his side. He told the team how he respected them so much after the performance they put in. He treated all of the Dundalk team to a drink and food.

The season 1982/83 was Jim McLaughlin's last season at Oriel until he returned in the late 1990s. Dundalk narrowly missed qualifying for Europe in 1983, a missed Pop Flanagan penalty against Sligo in the Showgrounds ensured no Europe for Dundalk.

McLaughlin departed Dundalk on 21st June 1983 and left for Shamrock Rovers. He won two FAI cups for the Hoops and three league titles in the space of 3 seasons. He then moved to his hometown club o Derry City..He was at the Brandywell for 5 years from 1986 to June 1991. In 1989 he won the elusive treble of League, FAI Cup and League Cup with Derry. No other club ever achieved this.

McLaughlin moved from Derry to Shelbourne for season 1991-92. He co-managed the side with Pat Byrne. He won another league title in 1992. Ironically Shels won the title at Oriel Park in the final game of the season. In September 1993 Dundalk manager Turlough O'Connor departed the club. Jim Mclaughlin went for the job.

Ironically there was just one other person in for the job. That was Dermot Keely. There was a huge surprise Mclaughlin did not get his old job back. The interview committee was split equally among the two candidates.Chairman Eamonn Hiney gave the casting vote for Keely. Keely went on to lead Dundalk to a league title in 1994/1995.

McLaughlin took over at Drogheda United.in November 1993. He was there for 3 seasons. Drogheda were relegated twice during his reign and promoted once in 1994-95. Jim had a spell of ill health while boss in Drogheda. While in the Lourdes he made a new friend in the late Charlie McCalister. Charlie was a porter at the hospital and was a very strong GAA man. His club was Newtown Blues. I knew Charlie very well. He spoke so highly of Jim all of the time. He called him Gentleman Jim.
McLaughlin returned to Dundalk in 1996. He became a director. The club was in deep financial trouble. Jim was on a board now run by his always close friend Enda McGuill.

In August 1997 then manager of Dundalk Eddie May departed at short notice back to Wales. Jim returned to the dugout and was once again the manager of Dundalk. The season before, Eddie May guided Dundalk to safety in a relegation promotion game against Waterford.

Jim guided his Dundalk team to mid-table in season 1997-98. His assistant, the late Tommy Connolly, played a huge part in the revival of the team's fortunes. But the following season time ran out for Dundalk. The club could no longer pay the wages of its players by mid-November in season 1998-99. All players were put up on the transfer list.

Dundalk were relegated to Division One in April 1999. The relegation had nothing to do with Jim McLoughlin. He simply had no team at the end.

Tom McNulty was still playing for Dundalk. Mick Dohan was also on the team and there were many others. Thus Jim's final link with Dundalk ended in relegation. But he sewed the seeds of revival and three years later Dundalk won the FAI Cup in 2002. The team was then managed by former player Martin Murray.

Jim had links with the late Barry Keogh's career. This despite the fact Barry hit the top of his career with Dundalk under Turlough O'Connor. Barry played for Jim when he was manager of Drogheda. Willy Crawley the quiet man of Dundalk FC won a league and a cup medal under Jim McLaughlin at Dundalk as well. The club gave Jim a guard of honour as his remains were brought to the Church for his funeral on Sunday. Players stood on both sides of the road to give respect to the greatest manager in League of Ireland Football. Current Dundalk boss Jon Daly was also in attendance.

Many of the Dundalk double-winning team of 1978-79 were in attendance. The same could be said of Jim McLaughlin's Shamrock Rovers three in a row side. Shelbourne were well represented as of course were Derry City. It was rightly mentioned at the funeral of the great work the Birches in Dundalk had done with Jim over the past 14 years. Derry's Liam Coyle described Jim as simply being a genius. He pointed out that Jim had won 8 leagues with four different clubs.

John Murphy who was McLaughlin's assistant manager for the cup final in 1977 said the great man will always be held in very high esteem. He pointed out that Shamrock Rovers fans still have a flag at the Tallaght Stadium, which said Jim McLaughlin not been forgotten. John says Jim will always be remembered in every League of Ireland ground throughout the country. Jim made 113 appearances for Dundalk as player-manager scoring four goals.

In 1986 then former Liverpool manager Bob Paisley went for the vacant Republic of Ireland job.
What is not really known is that Jim McLaughlin was to be his understudy and would eventually become Republic of Ireland boss. The FAI decided against the idea and went for one Jack Charlton.

I think in this case they did the right thing. Jim lost his dad before he himself was born. From this, it led to the great leadership qualities Jim was to amass. Dermot Keely was at the funeral mass. Three years ago he lost his own son Alan, who died suddenly. Dermot wore his Dundalk FC jacket to the funeral. On Thursday on social media from Spain, he said that he had lost his football father on hearing of Jim's death.

To me, Jim will always be Dundalk's greatest-ever manager. To his family and friends, I wish them the deepest sympathies. To Jim, I would like to say thank you for the memories. You will live forever in the minds of all Dundalk FC supporters.
Please look after each other and always remember to be careful out there.