John McDonnell (footballer)

John McDonnell
Personal information
Date of birth	26 March 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1973–1983	Belvedere
Senior career*
Years	Team
1983–1984	Shamrock Rovers
1984–1986	Home Farm
1986–1987	Drogheda United
1987–1991	St Patrick's Athletic
1991–1992	Shamrock Rovers
1992–1997	St Patrick's Athletic
1997–1999	Newry Town
1999–2001	Home Farm
2001–2002	Dublin City
International career
1991–1997	League of Ireland XI
Managerial career
1998–1999	Newry Town
2001–2002	Dublin City
2003–2004	Shelbourne (assistant)
2004–2008	St Patrick's Athletic
2009–2010	Newry City
2010–2011	Faroe Islands (assistant)
2013–2014	Shelbourne
2014–2015	Drogheda United
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John McDonnell (born 26 March 1965 in Dublin) is an Irish football manager and former footballer. He most recently managed Drogheda United, having also managed Dublin City, St Patrick's Athletic, Newry City, Shelbourne and been assistant manager of the Faroe Islands.

Nicknamed "Johnny Mac", he had a long career as a footballer before entering management. The majority of his career was spent at St Patrick's Athletic and he captained the side to the 1996 League of Ireland Championship.

Career

Playing career

As a

Drogheda United

before signing for Pats. After winning the league there he signed back for Rovers for the 1991–92 where he scored once in 34 appearances.

He then signed back for another spell at

SK Slovan Bratislava.^[1]

He then moved to

player-manager

in 1998.

In this first ever season in European competition, Newry Town (as they were then known) were drawn against the

Hrvatski Dragovoljac. A 1–0 defeat in Croatia was followed by a historic 2–0 win at home to send the club into the second round. There they met Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg

. Again, Newry were drawn away in the first leg, coming away with a respectable 2–0 defeat to the German professionals. A 1–0 win at home wasn't enough to force extra time but the side had exceeded expectations in the tournament.

He resigned in September 1999.

Management career

Having previously been player-manager for Newry Town, the chance came to manage at newly founded League of Ireland side

2003 FIFA World Youth Championships

.

In 2004, when

JFK Olimps Riga and IF Elfsborg

.

He is the first St Pats player to win the League of Ireland, score and manage the club in European competition.

In January 2009, he departed as St Patrick's Athletic manager. He was then linked with the Assistant Manager position at Leeds United, the Manager position at Cork City and manager positions at League 2 sides Barnet and AFC Bournemouth.

In September 2009, he returned to

Irish League side Newry City as manager following the resignation of Gerry Flynn. In March 2010, he resigned.^[2] In April 2010, he was appointed Assistant Manager of the Faroe Islands, by manager Brian Kerr

, his former colleague at St Pat's. Kerr and McDonnell resigned in October 2011.

On 24 May 2013, McDonnell was appointed manager of Shelbourne.

McDonnell was appointed Drogheda United boss on 29 November 2014.

Honours

St Patrick's Athletic

League of Ireland: 1989–90, 1995–96
SRFC Young Player of the Year: 1983–84

References

^ "The Irish Times – Friday, July 19, 1996 – Page 19". The Irish Times.
^ "Flynn returns as McDonnell quits". BBC Sport. 13 March 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2018.

[1] "The Irish Times – Friday, July 19, 1996 – Page 19". The Irish Times.

[2] "Flynn returns as McDonnell quits". BBC Sport. 13 March 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2018.

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