Jim McGuinness

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Personal information
Irish name Séamus Mag Aonghusa
Sport Gaelic football
Born (1972-11-16) 16 November 1972 (age 51)
Glenties, County Donegal, Ireland
Occupation Celtic (Reserve Team Coach)
Inter-county management
Years County
2010–2014 Donegal
Inter-county titles
County League Province All-Ireland
Donegal 3 1

Jim McGuinness (/ˈɡɪnᵻs/ GIN-is; born 16 November 1972) is an All-Ireland winning former Gaelic footballer and manager, who oversaw the Donegal senior team until October 2014.

McGuinness's achievements are universally recognised,[1][2][3] earning the admiration of sportsmen in both his own and other disciplines, including the golfer Paul McGinley and the soccer manager Neil Lennon.[4] In addition, having been invited to assist the Celtic soccer team in Scotland, he is one of few inter-county managers to have been offered a role at a professional sports team outside Ireland.[5] McGuinness's services were also thought to have been sought by Premier League soccer teams.[6][7]

Having guided Donegal to the final of the 2010 All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship, McGuinness was appointed senior manager later that year. His time at the helm has been a soaring success; he has overseen a Donegal team that has won three Ulster Senior Football Championship titles in four seasons and led them to the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the county's first appearance on football's ultimate stage since 1992. Donegal's victory that year was only the county's second All-Ireland senior title in more than 120 years.[8]

McGuinness has also become something of a cultural icon. His image has appeared on a rock outside Glenties.[9] A statue bearing the epigraph "Jim the Redeemer" has been erected at Laghy close to the holy shrine of pilgrimage on Lough Derg.[10][11]

Playing career

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Jim McGuinness
Personal information
Irish name Séamus Mag Aonghusa
Sport Gaelic football
Position Midfield
Nickname Cher[12]
Club titles
Donegal titles 1
Colleges(s)
Years College
IT Tralee
UUJ
Inter-county(ies)
Years County
1992–2003 Donegal
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles 1
All-Irelands 1
All Stars 0

McGuinness was born in Glenties, County Donegal. As a scraggly-haired teenager in 1992, McGuinness observed from the bench Brian McEniff's team topple Derry in the final of the Ulster Senior Football Championship before going on to steal the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship from Dublin's grasp.[13]

A member of the 1992 All-Ireland winning team, McGuinness was also a star of Third-Level Colleges football, winning Sigerson Cups with Tralee in 1998 and 1999 as captain, and again as captain in 2001 with the University of Ulster at Jordanstown (U.U.J.). At Tralee he studied health and leisure.[14][15] He played club football with Naomh Conaill, winning a Donegal Senior Football Championship in 2005.[16] With Ireland, he played in the 1998 International Rules Series. His boyhood hero was Jack O'Shea.[17]

He played with Donegal until 2003. Upon retiring he became a fitness coach and lectured as a sports psychologist in the North West Regional College, Limavady.[18]

Management career

At the age of 18 McGuinness was coaching underage teams. Columba McDyer, at the time the only Donegal man with an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medal, approached him one night. He said "I think you are going to be a coach. I want you to have this whistle.", and presented him with a blue and white whistle. McGuinness still uses the whistle to this day.[19]

Naomh Conaill

The story goes that one day Jim tore his cruciate ligaments, broke a leg and smashed a kneecap in a game against Killybegs, leading to months spent languishing at home in self-pity and lethargy. Naomh Conaill manager Hughie Molloy asked him to coach the senior team—McGuinness accepted and in 2005 Naomh Conaill reached their first county final in 40 years. 6/1 outsiders ahead of the match, Naomh Conaill defeated a heavily-fanced St. Eunan's after a replay to take their first ever Donegal Senior Football Championship.[20] The style used was reminiscent of what would later become The System.[20][21]

In 2009, Naomh Conaill met St. Eunan's in the county final again. McGuinness, now aged 36, was joint-manager (with Cathal Corey) of Naomh Conaill. Naomh Conaill lost that one but won the county final again the following year.[20]

Donegal

Famously, McGuinness was turned down several times by the Donegal County Board, on one occasion being thwarted by the lack of a plug socket for the projector needed for his PowerPoint display. "I was the only candidate [on the last occasion] and I struggled to get it", he said the week before Donegal took on Mayo in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.[19] He had offers from other counties but held out, determined to become senior boss even when those at the top did their utmost to deprive him of the opportunity.[22]

Under-21s

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"It's the time, the thought and research he puts into it. Then, you play the percentages. Jim has a really good knowledge of all sports and knows what makes people tick. He's a lot of experience from working with different teams."

Peter McGinley—McGuinness's number two when in charge of the Donegal Under-21s.[23]

The last time he was rejected as senior manager McGuinness was given the under-21 team to manage as a consolation. He guided them to the 2010 All-Ireland U-21 Football Championship Final, in which they were narrowly defeated by Dublin.

Seniors

Appointment

In July 2010, McGuinness, having led Donegal to the 2010 All-Ireland U-21 Football Championship Final, was appointed as manager of the senior team when his colleague John Joe Doherty resigned in the wake of a disastrous season.[24] His first meeting with the downcast and "demoralised" senior panel occurred at Downings Bay Hotel on 6 November 2010.[19] He outlined his intentions: to be in the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final after four years of hard labour akin to an Olympiad.[15] McGuinness drafted Kevin Cassidy into his first McKenna Cup panel, despite Cassidy announcing his intention to retire the previous season's disappointing campaign.[25]

First year
Donegal defeated Kildare in the 2011 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in Jim McGuinness's first season in charge.

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Further information: Donegal v Dublin (2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship)

McGuinness's first year as manager proved successful, as Donegal gained promotion to Division 1 after beating Laois by a scoreline of 2–11 to 0–16. Donegal's 2011 All-Ireland Championship campaign began on 15 May 2011, against Antrim. Both sides performed poorly; however, Donegal ultimately triumphed, earning their ever first Ulster championship win for four years. On his first start in the Ulster Senior Football Championship, Ryan Bradley scored two points The Sunday Game gave him their man-of-the-match award. However, TV pundit Pat Spillane also claimed Bradley was "the best of a bad bunch" and didn't deserve the award at all, causing McGuinness to react furiously.[26] McGuinness called Spillane's comments "way over the top".[27]

On 17 July 2011, Donegal won their first Ulster title since 1992 when they defeated Derry by a scoreline of 1–11 to 0–8. On 30 July 2011, Donegal faced Kildare in the All-Ireland quarter-final. A disastrous first half ensued but a thriller emerged during the second quarter, with the sides finishing level at full-time to drag themselves into extra-time. Donegal edged out Kildare by a scoreline of 1–12 to 0–14, with late points scored by captain Michael Murphy and two veterans, Christy Toye and Kevin Cassidy.[28][29] Donegal were then narrowly defeated by Dublin in the semi-final on 28 August 2011; Dublin went on to become All-Ireland champions by beating Kerry in the final.[30][31]

In November 2011, McGuinness dropped Kevin Cassidy from the Donegal panel after Cassidy contributed to a book (This Is Our Year).[32][33][34] Cassidy appeared not to understand why this was so.[35][36] Cassidy has not played for Donegal since.[37] In what went down as a "surreal moment for the viewer", Mícheál Ó Domhnaill famously interviewed McGuinness following a live 2012 league game on TG4 while Cassidy, in the role of television analyst, stood beside him with his head bowed.[38][39]

Second year

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Further information: 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final

In his second season in charge of the Donegal senior football team, McGuinness led his team from the preliminary round of the Ulster Senior Football Championship all the way to the Sam Maguire Cup, two years ahead of schedule, half-way through his intended Olympiad.[15]

Donegal retained the Ulster title for the first time in team history on 22 July 2012, with a 2–18 to 0–13 victory over Down.[40] McGuinness then masterminded a comprehensive defeat of Kerry in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-finals.[41] This result was described by the national media as "the most seismic result in [Kerry] since the 1987 Munster final replay defeat to Cork".[42] Pat Spillane, prominent critic of the team, was nowhere to be seen after this defeat of his own team, though he bumped into Jim McGuinness on the steps of a hotel the following week as McGuinness was being photographed receiving an award.[43]

McGuinness then led his team to the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final with a comprehensive semi-final defeat of title-favourites Cork at Croke Park.[44] Ahead of the match, nobody outside the county gave Donegal a chance, and Cork went into the game as heavy favourites to win the title itself (even though this was only the semi-final).[45] Tyrone's Mickey Harte, attempting to analyse the game for the BBC, expressed his shock: "To be honest, I could not see that coming. Donegal annihilated Cork, there is no other word for it."[46] Martin McHugh, a member of the successful 1992 side, said it was the best ever performance by any Donegal team, including his own.[47]

McGuinness's Donegal team defeated Mayo in the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.[48] McGuinness duetted with Daniel O'Donnell on "Destination Donegal" at the homecoming.[49] He was later awarded Donegal Person of the Year.[50][51]

Third year

Donegal's defence of their All-Ireland title began against Tyrone on 26 May 2013. The match was billed in advance as the toughest contest Donegal would face in Ulster, with the winner thought likely to become Ulster champions. Donegal brushed aside Tyrone with relative ease.[52] McGuinness said afterwards: "In the last two years the exact same thing was said. The only difference this year was that we were relegated [from the league]. There was a lot of talk about putting all the eggs into one basket, but it was the same last year and the same the year before. That's what we do – it's championship football. It will be no different next year. It was a media spin that got the whole debate going. Next year we will put all our eggs in that basket again."[53] Donegal lost their Ulster title to a hungrier Monaghan side in the Ulster Final on a scoreline of 0–13 points to 0–07 in favour of the Farney men. Plagued by injuries, they limped past Laois in the qualifiers to face Mayo in the All Ireland Quarter Final, a rematch of the previous year's All Ireland Final. Mayo ran out sixteen-point winners on a scoreline of 4–17 to 1–10. In a post-match interview, McGuinness cited the second half of Mayo as one of the toughest watches of his managerial career. In September 2013, McGuinness confirmed he would be staying on for the 2014 season but that Rory Gallagher, Maxi Curran and Francie Friel had stepped down from his backroom team.[54] On 25 September 2013, Damian Diver, John Duffy and Paul McGonigle were named as the new members of his backroom team.[55][56]

Fourth year

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Further information: Donegal v Dublin (2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship)

In his fourth season in charge of the Donegal senior football team, McGuinness led his team to the 2014 Ulster Senior Football Championship, then past Armagh in the All-Ireland quarter-final, past Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final and onwards to Kerry in the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, succeeding in his original aim, set back in 2010.[15] The semi-final victory over Dublin was particularly celebrated.[57][58][59] Dublin had been expected to "massacre" Donegal; bookmakers were stunned by the outcome.[60][61][62][63][64] Martin McHugh said afterwards that McGuinness was "the best manager Donegal have ever had, and one of the best in any county in the modern era" and Ireland manager Paul Earley hailed the victory as McGuinness's greatest coaching achievement.[65][66] On 4 October 2014, McGuinness terminated his tenure as Donegal manager.[67][68] He gave his first interview since this on The Saturday Night Show soon afterwards.[69][70]

Influence abroad

Celtic

On 9 November 2012, the Scottish soccer team Celtic, based in Glasgow, confirmed its intention to appoint McGuinness as a performance consultant on a part-time basis.[71][72] It was expected that he would remain as the Donegal manager, spending three days each week in Scotland focusing on the soccer club's academy structure at their Lennoxtown training centre.[73][74] His role at Celtic did not affect his attendance at Donegal training sessions; he attended every one.[75]

in May 2015, McGuinness confirmed his desire to advance his career as a soccer coach at Celtic FC, saying he was about to start his UEFA B coaching badge.[76]

Tír Chonaill Gaels

McGuinness attended a Tír Chonaill Gaels training session in November 2012, and spoke to players with the London champions after they had trained. Dave McGreevy, a defender on the team, spoke of his awe of McGuinness for what he had done: "Jim McGuinness came down with the Sam Maguire and gave us a big talk after training that went on for ages. It was great. You could see with Donegal this year that all the players bought into their game plan and he explained to us how that worked. From listening to him speak it was blatantly obvious why the man has won an All-Ireland. We took on board everything he said."[77]

NYPD

McGuinness helped out on the sideline and gave a rousing speech at half-time as the NYPD defeated the FDNY. He was in New York at the time to manage the 2012 All Stars team.[78] McGuinness also managed them to a comprehensive victory with a ten-point win over the 2011 All Stars.[79]

Ryder Cup

In January 2013, Paul McGinley confirmed that McGuinness would have a role to play in the 2014 Ryder Cup.[80][81] Less than a week after the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, McGuinness was once again spotted on Sky Sports, gazing upwards as the Spaniard Sergio García struck a shot in front of him.[82]

Media career

In 2014 Sky Sports secured a three year deal to broadcast live matches from the All-Ireland Gaelic football and hurling Championships. In May 2015, McGuinness was announced as a key part of the Sky Sports line-up. Announcing the move, Sky Ireland MD, JD Buckley said "We believe we are giving GAA the Sky Sports treatment while preserving the integrity of our national games."[76]

Personal life

McGuinness's wife Yvonne is a sister of Colm McFadden.[83][84] They have five children: Toni-Marie, Mark Anthony, Jim, Jr., Bonnie and Aoibh.[85]

Honours

Player

Manager

See also

References

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  5. ↑ Other examples are former Derry and Armagh coach John McCloskey who took the role of skills coach at London Wasps and Justin McNulty who was appointed in a similar role to McGuinness's Celtic position at Sunderland F.C.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Craig, Frank. "Jim could have walked away – McGuinness: 'I had offers'". Letterkenny Post, 20 September 2012, pp. 44–45.
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  76. ↑ 76.0 76.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  77. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  86. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by All-Ireland Senior Football Final
winning manager
2012		 Succeeded by
Jim Gavin
(Dublin)
Sporting positions
Preceded by Donegal Senior Football Manager
2010–2014		 Succeeded by
vacant
Preceded by
?
 Donegal Under-21 Football Manager
?-2010		 Succeeded by
Maxi Curran

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Template:Donegal Gaelic football team managers

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