Mick Cooke (born 14 August 1951) is an Irish association football manager and former player.

Playing career

A former youths international Cooke played in the qualifiers for

Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team The Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team, is the national under-19 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland and competes in the biennial European Under-19 Football Championsh ...

in the 1970 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship. An inside left he started his career at

St Patrick's Athletic F.C. St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Ir ...

He then moved to

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

scoring 8 league goals in four seasons and was their top scorer in 1972/73. He played in both games of the 1971 FAI Cup Final as Drogheda lost in the replay to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. The Dubliner was signed by Mick Meagan for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

later that year, the man who had brought him to Drogheda as a teenager four years earlier. A former

Republic of Ireland national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...

youth international in February 1974 Cooke signed for

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

and was an unused substitute as Pats lost the 1974

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

final.

Managing career

Cooke managed the

Republic of Ireland women's national football team ) , Association = Women's Football Association of Ireland , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Vera Pauw , Captain = Katie McCabe , Most caps = Emma Byrne (134) , Top scorer = Olivia ...

for eight years from 1992, standing down in July 2000 to concentrate on his role as assistant manager of

. Cooke led the U–17 girls to triumph in the

Gothia Cup The Gothia Cup () is an international youth association football tournament organized by professional football club BK Häcken, which has been held annually since 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Considered the biggest tournament in the world in terms ...

in 1995, beating

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

in the final; and, the following year, won the

Dana Cup The Dana Cup, one of the world's largest football tournaments, takes place every year in the North Jutland town of Hjørring in Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , ...

with the U–18's when defeating the State of Texas in the final in America. One of his last games came against world champions

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in front of 30,500 spectators at the

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England Pa ...

, Massachusetts in September 1999. He was alongside Damien Richardson from 1999–2002 as Rovers finished League of Ireland runners-up and reached two FAI Cup semi-finals. In 2003, he got his first manager's job in the league at

Monaghan United Monaghan United F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Mhuineacháin Aontaithe) is an Irish association football club based in Monaghan currently playing in the Ulster Senior League. The club joined the League of Ireland in 1983 and subsequently went on to pl ...

. After seven seasons he took over from Bobby Browne in February 2011 and in the 2011 League of Ireland season he led Drogheda to ninth place and safety in the Premier Division. He is the first team manager of

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

side

since taking over 2011. He took over from Bobby Browne in February 2011 after seven seasons in charge of

, and in the 2011 League of Ireland he led Drogheda to ninth place and safety in the Premier Division. Cooke took over as manager of

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...

in November 2013, but left the position in April 2014 after the club lost all of their opening ten league games of the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

season. On 7 July 2015, Cooke took the reins at

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

Honours

As a manager

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

: 1 **

–

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

References

External links

Interview on Drogheda United Website2011 Interview on Extratime
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Mick 1951 births Living people Republic of Ireland association footballers Men's association football inside forwards Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers League of Ireland players Drogheda United F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Galway United F.C. (1937–2011) players Drogheda United F.C. managers League of Ireland managers Athlone Town A.F.C. managers Galway United F.C. managers Republic of Ireland women's national football team managers Bray Wanderers F.C. managers Monaghan United F.C. managers Bluebell United F.C. players Republic of Ireland association football managers Association footballers from Dublin (city)